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Archives for February 2019

Central Notes: Wild, Blues, Bishop

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With Mikko Koivu now out for the season, some have speculated that the Wild could be turning to the trade market to bring in a center to replace him.  However, GM Paul Fenton told reporters, including John Shipley of the Pioneer Press, that the team isn’t looking to bring in anyone else down the middle for the time being.  This means that Charlie Coyle will likely shift over to center for the foreseeable future, opening up a spot on the right side.  Given that the asking price for wingers at the deadline is often lower, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Minnesota turn around and look to add one as Koivu’s replacement.

More from the Central Division:

  • While it has been expected that the Blues would deal their pending UFA defensemen in Jay Bouwmeester and Carl Gunnarsson, Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests that St. Louis might consider opting to keep one of them around to ensure they have six proven blueliners for a possible playoff push. The Blues have won four straight games and are now tied for a Wild Card spot which could result in a temptation to keep some of their veteran assets around.  Bouwmeester is the more notable of the two rearguards but with a full no-trade clause and a $5.4MM cap hit, he could wind up being the more difficult to move.
  • The Stars announced that they’ve placed goaltender Ben Bishop on injured reserve retroactive to February 4th. This allows them to keep Landon Bow up with the team after he was brought up on an emergency basis.  Fortunately for Dallas, Bishop isn’t expected to be out for much longer.  While he’s ineligible to play on Saturday against Arizona, head coach Jim Montgomery acknowledged that the expectation is that the 32-year-old should be ready to play in their next game on Tuesday in Florida.

Pittsburgh Penguins Hoping To Not Be Involved On Deadline Day

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Jim Rutherford isn’t one to wait around. The GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins is notorious for making moves well before the NHL trade deadline, opting out of all fuss as the time ticks down. This year has been more of the same, as Rutherford made his biggest trade of the year a week ago by bringing in Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann while finding a home for Derick Brassard. Now, as the deadline approaches the Penguins might just be happy to sit still.

In a new interview with Mike Zeisberger of NHLcom, Rutherford explains that the hope for the Penguins is that they don’t have to make another trade. With Evgeni Malkin and Justin Schultz both expected back from injury soon, the legendary GM hopes that the team plays well enough for him to avoid any additional moves:

As long as our team is playing the right way and at a high level, I don’t feel pressure to do anything on trade deadline day.

Now that isn’t to say Rutherford will definitely avoid the market on February 25th, and he was sure to explain that. But if Malkin and Schultz can impact the lineup like usual, the Penguins should be able to climb out of the hole they’ve dug themselves over the last few games and contend for the Metropolitan Division crown once again. After three straight losses, the team sits five points behind the division leading New York Islanders.

If Pittsburgh does take themselves out of the running at the deadline, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the division reacts. The Blue Jackets, tied with Pittsburgh at the moment for third in the Metropolitan, may have to trade away two of their best players in Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky. The Capitals, sitting in second place, don’t have a lot of room to make moves anyway. But the Islanders are a different story entirely. They too have several high profile players scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency, but all of them have expressed an interest in re-signing in New York if possible. The team also has a ton of cap space to bring those players back, or even add several more at the deadline this season.

Several of this year’s top trade deadline targets have been linked to the Penguins, but perhaps the recent acquisitions have cooled any interest. Pittsburgh will be a team to watch over their next eight games, as a stumble could send Rutherford back to the phones to try and improve his team for another Stanley Cup run.

Snapshots: Fines, Barrie, Senators

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James van Riemsdyk has been fined $5,000 for his high-stick on Los Angeles Kings defenseman Alec Martinez last night. That is the maximum allowable fine for the incident, which did not draw a penalty in the game. While van Riemsdyk will not face a suspension, fines like these are taken into account for any future discipline handed down from the Department of Player Safety.

  • The Colorado Avalanche are about to have a wealth of right-handed defensemen available to them, and Mike Chambers of the Denver Post believes it might mean they end up trading Tyson Barrie. In fact, Chambers went so far as calling a Barrie trade “inevitable” in his latest mailbag, noting that Conor Timmins is close to a return from injury and Cale Makar is expected to sign after the NCAA season is completed. Barrie is having another outstanding offensive season with 40 points in 49 games and could likely bring back a substantial trade package for the Avalanche if they make him available. With another year on his current contract, a trade doesn’t necessarily need to be before this month’s deadline.
  • Elliotte Friedman was on Sportsnet radio today to talk about the trade market, and he explained that “in the next three to five days” there should be a resolution one way or another with Mark Stone and Matt Duchene in Ottawa. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Senators will have signed or traded their two star free agents, but likely that their camps will have indicated to GM Pierre Dorion where negotiations are headed and whether he needs to move them. Friedman notes that those players are still holding up the market at large.

Mikko Koivu Suffers Season-Ending Injury

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Friday: Koivu has undergone successful surgery to repair both the ACL and meniscus. An update on his recovery timeline will be provided in the summer.

Wednesday: The Minnesota Wild are still fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, but will now have to do it without their captain. Mikko Koivu has suffered a torn ACL and torn meniscus in his right knee, and will have surgery to repair the damage on Friday.

Not only is this a blow to the Wild’s playoff chances, but a devastating injury for Koivu at this point in his career. The 35-year old center has one year remaining on his current contract and was already nearing the end of his time as a real top option in the middle. While it’s too early to speculate on whether Koivu’s career is in jeopardy, he will definitely miss a good chunk of whatever time he had left. A torn ACL takes quite a bit of time to recover from, and some players struggle to ever get back to the same level.

More immediately though, this drastically changes things for the Wild as they look to make the playoffs this season. Not only are they losing their best defensive center, but will also likely weaken themselves on the wing by moving Charlie Coyle back to the middle. It’s nice that they possess that kind of versatility, but they’ll now have to think long and hard before adding anything at the deadline.

The Wild are sitting in a wild card spot at the moment, but have dropped three in a row and are only holding on because of the lack of challengers in the Western Conference. A loss like Koivu could very well push them even lower in the standings, or at least reduce their chances of competing in the postseason.

Ilya Kovalchuk “Definitely Available” As Deadline Nears

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The Los Angeles Kings have made a few trades this season, most notably shipping Jake Muzzin to Toronto for a solid package of future assets. That’s likely the theme of any additional deal they do between now and the February 25th trade deadline, despite climbing back into the playoff race over the last little while. The Western Conference wild card spots are still basically available for any team to take, including the Kings who have won three straight and are now just five points behind the St. Louis Blues. Los Angeles knows though that they need to change the makeup of their team and GM Rob Blake indicated recently that they are looking for picks and prospects, though won’t rush to sell off everything that isn’t tied down.

It’s interesting then, that Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that veteran forward Ilya Kovalchuk is “definitely available” if a team were to come forward with an offer. The Kings only just signed Kovalchuk in the summer of 2018 to a three-year, $18.75MM contract but have obviously realized that his last few seasons of production might be wasted on a rebuilding roster. Kovalchuk though, picked Los Angeles for a reason and holds a full no-movement clause through the end of next season. If he doesn’t want to go anywhere he doesn’t have to, though LeBrun notes that the winger would “waive it if the right fit presented itself.”

After some strong play recently, Kovalchuk is up to 26 points in 44 games this season but is still a shadow of the dominant presence he once was. If any team does show interest, the Kings would likely have to retain some salary in order to get any kind of substantial return. With that though is the risk that Kovalchuk could disappear again, meaning his 35+ contract would be an empty cap hit sitting on both team’s books. Kovalchuk will have earned $13.8MM of the $18.75MM after July 1st of this year, when he receives his next signing bonus.

LeBrun notes that Boston, Vegas and San Jose also showed interest in the Russian winger in the summer, but all three may be looking elsewhere now to help their teams. Remember that Kovalchuk also passed on any interest from those three to sign in Los Angeles, meaning they might not be an appealing fit to him. Over the next two weeks we’ll find out exactly how much the Kings want to sell off their current roster, but it does appear as though the veteran forward is available for the right price.

Kyle Capobianco Suffers Season-Ending Injury

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The Arizona Coyotes appear to be cursed. The team announced today that young defenseman Kyle Capobianco suffered a lower-body injury last night and will be out for the remainder of the season. The Coyotes have suffered almost countless long-term injuries this season, including season-ending ones to Antti Raanta, Jason Demers and Nick Schmaltz. Michael Grabner, Christian Dvorak and Jakob Chychrun, three others who have seen huge parts of the season taken away (or in Dvorak’s case the whole thing so far), were back at practice today in one form or another.

Capobianco, 21, won’t be as lucky after suffering what looked like a knee injury last night. Originally selected in the third round in 2015, Capobianco has been extremely effective at the minor league level and earned himself a pair of games this season. That’s all he’ll end the year with, meaning he now heads into the final season of his entry-level contract with just three NHL contests under his belt.

The Coyotes meanwhile are just trying to stay competitive during their injury-riddled season, but have now lost five consecutive games and are within a point of last place in the Western Conference. That means they’re still within four of a playoff spot, but things have not gone well for the team over the past few weeks. If they can get some of their ailing forwards back before long there might be a chance they can go on a run and secure one of the wildcard spots, but it’s looking like another lost year for GM John Chayka and the rest of the organization at the moment.

Maple Leafs Show Interest In Luke Glendening

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The Toronto Maple Leafs showed interest in Detroit Red Wings forward Luke Glendening last season, but ended up adding Tomas Plekanec at the deadline instead. That interest hasn’t waned according to Frank Seravalli of TSN, who reports that the Maple Leafs have “kicked the tires” on Glendening again. Seravalli suggests a deal would need the Red Wings to retain salary on the fourth-line center, who carries a cap hit of $1.8MM in each of the next two seasons.

The 29-year old Glendening is an excellent faceoff man and penalty killer, and is actually having the best offensive season of his career. Receiving more minutes than ever before, Glendening has 18 points in 54 minutes, on pace to easily cruise by his career-high of 21. That has also come with a surprisingly good +9 rating, despite still seeing heavy defensive zone deployment and losing the possession battle badly.

Toronto currently employs a pair of natural centers on the fourth line, with Frederik Gauthier usually playing in the middle with Par Lindholm on his wing. One of those two would likely be taken out of the lineup in favor of Glendening, a favorite of Mike Babcock since his days with the Red Wings. There’s no guarantee that Glendening would actually have a bigger impact than either of those two on the ice, though his leadership and work ethic has long been admired around the league.

The question them comes down to price, and Seravalli suggests that it would start with a second-round pick given the recent Brian Boyle trade. The Maple Leafs have already sent their first-round selection to Los Angeles for Jake Muzzin, and are also short a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft. Toronto obviously believes this is a year they can compete for the Stanley Cup, but have to be careful about sending away too many draft picks before they’ve even won a playoff round. Still, if Detroit is willing to retain salary on Glendening he could give the team a little more cost certainty on the fourth line for the next few years when cash will be tight.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Artemi Panarin Changes Agency

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Arguably the biggest name on both the trade market and the upcoming free agent market is Artemi Panarin, who has been represented by Dan Milstein and Gold Star Hockey. No more, as according to Kevin Weekes of NHL Network, Panarin has changed agents. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweets that Panarin will now be represented by Paul Theofanous, who also works with teammate (and fellow pending free agent) Sergei Bobrovsky.

Speculation is bound to immediately erupt over this news, with the idea of Panarin and Bobrovsky being a free agent package the obvious conclusion. That’s not necessarily true even if it does seem more likely, as the number of teams who could afford to add both would limit the market. It also doesn’t increase the odds that Panarin re-signs in Columbus, something that seemed extremely unlikely after comments from Milstein last month.

Panarin will remain the top rental option at the deadline, and the decision on whether he will be moved still comes down to the Blue Jackets front office and GM Jarmo Kekalainen. The 27-year old forward does not have any trade protection in his current contract and can be moved without his approval. Columbus has won two games in a row however and may decide to keep both Russian free agents through the end of the season to try and win a Stanley Cup.

Nashville Predators Acquire Laurent Dauphin

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The Nashville Predators have traded Emil Pettersson to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Laurent Dauphin and Adam Helewka. This move will free up a contract spot for the Coyotes, who were sitting at the 50-contract limit. Pettersson is the older brother of Vancouver Canucks star rookie Elias Pettersson.

Dauphin, the only one of the three to spend any time in the NHL, is also likely the most interesting part of the deal. The 23-year old forward was selected 39th overall in 2013 and has suited up 35 times for the Coyotes over the last few seasons. While he hasn’t been able to find much offensive success at the NHL level—four points in those 35 career games—he’s at least been a consistent enough producer at the minor league level and still has time to develop into a depth option for the Predators. Unfortunately he is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights in the summer, and is no longer waiver-exempt. That very well could leave him without a qualifying offer if Nashville doesn’t see enough from him over the next few months.

Pettersson, 25, has all the same traits as his younger brother if a little less polished. A skilled, undersized forward he has 79 points in 121 AHL games since coming over from Sweden in 2017. There’s little chance that Pettersson is going to be a big NHL contributor, but the Coyotes at least got some minor league depth out of a trade that was more about creating deadline flexibility than anything else.

That flexibility is important, given the trade deadline and college free agency over the next few months. The Coyotes couldn’t have added another player without opening up a spot, something they may have to do again before long. Remember that trades can still actually happen after the deadline, those players are just no longer eligible for playoff hockey.

Minor Transactions: 02/08/19

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After an extremely busy night in the NHL the league is almost completely quiet this evening, with just one game between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers scheduled. Teams will surely use this day off to make slight tweaks to their roster, and we’ll be here keeping track of all the minor moves.

  • Casey Nelson has been sent to the minor leagues on a conditioning loan. The Buffalo Sabres defenseman has missed more than two months with an upper-body injury, but is apparently healthy enough to get back on the ice. Nelson, 26, had six points in 22 games before suffering the injury.
  • With Jayce Hawryluk heading to injured reserve, the Florida Panthers have recalled Bogdan Kiselevich from the minor leagues. Kiselevich hasn’t played nearly as much as expected when he signed out of the KHL, but could get another opportunity to show what he can do in order to entice a contender at the deadline.
  • Christian Djoos has been recalled from his conditioning loan by the Washington Capitals, but has not yet been activated from long-term injured reserve. Djoos could be ready to get back into the lineup this weekend, but does not have to come off LTIR until deemed completely healthy. Jonas Siegenthaler has been sent down to the minor leagues, signalling even further that Djoos will be activated at some point.
  • Cody Goloubef has been sent back down by the Ottawa Senators after playing in his first game of the season last night. The 29-year old defenseman was acquired by the Senators last month but is still expected to spend the majority of the year in the minor leagues.
  • Matt Luff has been sent down to the minors by the Los Angeles Kings, as the team prepares to activate Trevor Lewis from injured reserve. Luff has played in 30 games this season and has ten points, but will have to wait for his next chance in the NHL.
  • Malcolm Subban is healthy enough to resume playing for the Vegas Golden Knights, meaning Maxime Lagace has been sent back to the AHL. Lagace has been up with the team since the beginning of January, but only actually played in one game during that period.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have recalled Ryan Graves from the AHL, a welcome sight for many fans of the team. Graves made quite an impression during an earlier call-up and has two goals in nine games this season.
  • Egor Yakovlev has been sent back down to the minor leagues by the New Jersey Devils, who recently activated Ben Lovejoy off injured reserve. Yakovlev has played in 14 games this season for the Devils, providing five points.

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