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Archives for April 2019

Pittsburgh Penguins Will Likely Trade A Defenseman

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The Pittsburgh Penguins were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the New York Islanders, opening the door to plenty of questions surrounding the roster composition moving forward. The team made a few big trades during the season to change the look of their group, sending out names like Derick Brassard, Riley Sheahan, Daniel Sprong, Carl Hagelin and Tanner Pearson at various times. While that ended up with a deep group of defense with plenty of talent, it also now may lead to more deals having to be made this summer.

Speaking with Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford admitted that the team will likely have to trade a defenseman this summer. In fact, Rutherford told Mackey:

“But it will be difficult to keep all of our defensemen and keep them happy. I’m sure with the amount of teams who are looking for defensemen, we’ll have to move at least one.” 

That may not come as a surprise, given the state of the blue line right now. Six players are currently under one-way contracts for next season, all of them with cap hits of at least Jack Johnson’s $3.25MM. That makes for an expensive group, especially when you consider the fact that Marcus Pettersson, a restricted free agent, deserves a substantial raise after becoming one of the team’s more reliable options.

Mackey suggests that the one skating for a new team come 2019-20 may well be Olli Maatta, who ended up a healthy scratch for three games after his -2 performance in game one. This certainly isn’t the first time that Maatta has been considered a potential trade candidate, in fact his name has surfaced on a consistent basis since signing his six-year, $24.5MM contract in 2016. While the 24-year old defenseman is not a liability, he also hasn’t taken the necessary steps to make him an untouchable on the Pittsburgh roster.

That’s not to say that there wouldn’t be interest in him even with three years and more than $12MM still left on his contract. As Rutherford says, there will be plenty of teams looking for defensive upgrades this summer and he is still a potential top-four option on many of them. His cost certainty may actually be an attractive component to any trade, given his relative youth and the soaring costs of restricted free agents.

The question then becomes whether the Penguins group of defensemen is good enough to compete for a Stanley Cup next season without any other additions. Rutherford seemed to think so when he told reporters including Josh Yohe of The Athletic that this was the best blue line the team has had since he joined them. Rutherford of course joined the Penguins before the 2014-15 season, and won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017. Maatta, Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz were part of both titles, while Johnson, Pettersson and Erik Gudbranson were all added in the past year.

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Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Oula Palve

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Monday: The Penguins have officially announced the contract.

Saturday: The Pittsburgh Penguins have made a splash on the European free agent market.  CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that Pittsburgh has signed center Oula Palve to a one-year, entry-level contract.  The deal will carry an NHL salary of $700K (the league minimum) as well as a maximum $92.5K signing bonus and games played incentives of up to $132.5K.

The 27-year-old had a strong first full season with TPS Turku in the Finnish sm-Liiga, leading the team in scoring with 16 goals and 35 assists in 53 games.  His 51 points were a career high and ranked tied for sixth overall in league scoring.  He’s a bit of a late bloomer as only three years ago, he was a regular in the Mestis, Finland’s second division and was the top scorer in that league back in 2015-16.

This will be Palve’s first foray into North America and he will be going to a team whose fourth line has been in flux over the last couple of years.  Veteran Matt Cullen isn’t expected to return which creates a vacancy down the middle that Palve will likely have a chance to fill.  If he doesn’t make the team, he will be waiver-exempt for the 2019-20 season and regardless of what happens, he will once again be an unrestricted free agent in the 2020 offseason.

Mike Smith Open To Returning To Calgary

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The Calgary Flames were handed their golf passes in the playoffs after just five games against the Colorado Avalanche, but it wasn’t for the reasons many speculated on heading into the postseason. For much of the year the team had been dealing with goaltending issues, and when they handed the reins in game one to Mike Smith and his .898 save percentage it was easy to see a way that the top seed in the Western Conference could crumble.

Instead, Smith posted a 26-save shutout to open the series and was one of the team’s best players throughout. While he allowed 17 goals across five games, he kept them alive as the team routinely gave up huge shot totals meaning Smith actually finished the playoffs with a .917 save percentage. The 37-year old is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and today was asked at his final media availability whether he’d consider a return to the Flames. Smith told reporters including Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet that he would “for sure” like to return to Calgary if possible, noting that he loves being part of an organization committed to winning.

Looking at Smith’s history in the league, it’s easy to understand why he enjoyed this playoff run even with the unfortunate outcome. The veteran goaltender has only suited up in three playoffs over his long career, reaching it once with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2011 and once with the then-Phoenix Coyotes in 2012. Incredibly, he has a .938 save percentage over his 24 postseason appearances, thanks mostly to that outstanding run to the Western Conference Final he took the Coyotes on.

The question will be whether the Flames have room for Smith on the roster. The team doesn’t have a clear answer to the situation in net, and currently head into the offseason with just Jon Gillies, Tyler Parsons, Nick Schneider and Artyom Zagidulin under contract for next year. David Rittich and Mason McDonald remain under control as restricted free agents, but none of those names seem to make up a tandem worthy of a Stanley Cup contender.

There are other big decisions to make this summer including new contracts for Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk, but also where to go with a defense that was carved up by the speedy Avalanche forwards. T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic and Michael Stone all have just a single year left on their contracts, while younger options are pushing for more ice time. Smith will likely have to wait until after some of those decisions are made, given that he can’t be the full-time starter again next season if they have plans on advancing further than this year. Even with his surprisingly good performance, something needs to be done to fix the Calgary net.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Clark Bishop Recalled, Could Play For Carolina

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Last night, the Carolina Hurricanes made an emergency recall of Clark Bishop from the Charlotte Checkers. Bishop played in both games this weekend for the Checkers, splitting their first-round series 1-1 with the Providence Bruins. Today, the Hurricanes look like they’ll need him on the ice for an even more important playoff game as Andrei Svechnikov, Micheal Ferland and Jordan Martinook continue to deal with injuries. Though nothing is certain at this point, team reporter Michael Smith projects Bishop to jump in on the left side of Greg McKegg on the Hurricanes’ fourth line.

If he does get into the lineup for the team’s elimination game against the Washington Capitals tonight, at least it won’t be completely unfamiliar. Bishop played 20 games with the Hurricanes this season, recording his first NHL goal in early December. Twice he suited up against the Capitals, though the Hurricanes failed to win either game.

With so much riding on this game however, head coach Rod Brind’Amour won’t rule out a return of his three injured forwards until the last moment. All three skated this morning according to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer, but without getting in a full practice it is unclear who would be ready for game action. If it’s Bishop, he won’t be able to replace the offense that any of them bring to the table. The 23-year old forward scored just six points in 38 games for the Checkers this season.

Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers Reveal Playoff Injuries

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The Winnipeg Jets looked like a team battered and bruised in their final game against the St. Louis Blues, and it turns out that it isn’t just their egos that will need a few days to heal. Nikolaj Ehlers told reporters today including Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun that he suffered a fractured foot but played game six anyway, while Patrik Laine had groin and back injuries that he was dealing with throughout the playoffs. Neither player will suit up for the IIHF World Championship next month.

Brandon Tanev, who played in the final five games of the series, had surgery on a broken finger just a few days before the playoffs began.

The Jets will have plenty of questions to answer this summer after failing to get past the first round of the playoffs, and the postseason performance of Ehlers is certainly one of them. The 23-year old failed to record a single point in the series against the Blues and now has gone 21 games in his career without scoring a playoff goal. Ehlers struggled with injury for much of this season and finished with just 37 points in 62 games, a far stretch from the 60-point seasons he put up in the previous two.

The speedy forward just completed the first season of a seven-year, $42MM extension signed with the Jets in the fall of 2017. His performance is paramount to the team taking the next step and competing for the Stanley Cup.

St. Louis Blues Recall Seven Players

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The St. Louis Blues have recalled their “Black Aces” now that their first round series against the Winnipeg Jets is over. Klim Kostin, Chris Butler, Jordan Nolan, Austin Poganski, Niko Mikkola, Mitch Reinke and Jake Walman are all on their way to join the group. None of these players are expected to get into any game action, but will practice and get to experience the NHL playoff atmosphere.

Notably, Jordan Kyrou and Ville Husso are not among the recalls after being shut down for the season due to injury. Both young players will miss the chance to watch their organization visit the second round and lose any development opportunities that may have presented themselves.

Among the group there is some Stanley Cup experience, as Nolan won two championships with the Los Angeles Kings in the early part of the decade. In 2012 he actually played in 20 playoff games for the Kings, recording two points and 21 penalty minutes in a limited role. He’ll be able to lend his experience, if not his talents, over the next few weeks.

Arizona Coyotes To Target Scoring This Off-Season

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The Arizona Coyotes missed out on the postseason this year by a mere four points. While a success overall for the rebuilding club, the Coyotes struggled greatly on offense. The team’s 209 goals for were tied for third-worst in the NHL and their 16.3% power play success rate was sixth-worst. Behind stellar goaltending from Darcy Kuemper and strong team defense, the team largely got the job done, but they need to improve their scoring if they want to take the next step.

It’s thus no surprise that both Richard Morin of Arizona Republic and Craig Morgan of The Athletic write that Arizona will be looking to add a prominent scoring forward this summer. GM John Chayka would seem to agree:

I think to understand what we need to do to improve is pretty simple: We need to score more goals. I think anytime someone’s going through and trying to diagnose what you need to do to take that next step, that’s not the complicated part or complex part. I think what we need to understand and work through is, how do we score more goals? How do we create more offense, while maintaining that fundamental foundation of being a good stingy, defensive team.

Among the top options – albeit unlikely – for the Coyotes on the free agent market would be Columbus Blue Jackets stars Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene, Buffalo Sabres’ standout Jeff Skinner, or any of the New York Islanders’ trio of Anders Lee, Jordan Eberle, and Brock Nelson. All of these forwards are prime talents, but may not be available to Arizona. Both Skinner and Lee are expected to re-sign with their current teams, as could Eberle or Nelson, while Panarin and Duchene are likely outside the Coyotes’ price range. More accessible free agent scorers could include Ryan Dzingel, Gustav Nyquist, Wayne Simmonds, or Brett Connolly, one or two of which would be a major boost to Arizona’s offense.

Morgan also adds that several cap-strapped teams could be forced to move talented forwards, leaving the Coyotes in places to scoop up valuable players at a discount. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, and Tampa Bay Lightning are all in a tough spot, leaving the likes of Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson, William Nylander, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mathieu Perreault, Ondrej Palat, J.T. Miller, or Alex Killorn possibly up for grabs.

Either by signing or trade, the Coyotes are likely to add a prominent forward or two and are expected to target wingers rather than centers. Arizona will be a team to watch this off-season as they target several of the aforementioned top names.

Snapshots: Svechnikov, Hischier, Lack

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It appears as though the Carolina Hurricanes aren’t going to rush back one of their young stars, as head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters, including Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer. that Andrei Svechnikov is “doubtful” for tomorrow’s game. The Hurricanes are on the brink of elimination, but with Svechnikov such an integral part of their future and dealing with such a serious injury, the team simply can’t push him back too fast. With the Washington Capitals losing T.J. Oshie for the rest of the series (if not the playoffs), both teams will be short-handed in game six.

  • While Switzerland isn’t a traditional hockey powerhouse, they have performed as well as anyone at recent international events. The Swiss are coming off a silver medal finish at last season’s IIHF World Championship, and will add a top name to the squad for this season. The New Jersey Devils today announced that Nico Hischier will be suiting up for his country in next month’s tournament, adding a dangerous offensive player to a group that is always extremely disciplined in their own end.
  • One of Hischier’s former Devils teammates may be leaving the NHL. Swedish news source Hockeypuls reports that veteran goaltender Eddie Lack is in talks to return to his native Sweden to play for Leksands IF of the SHL. The 31-year-old is an impending free agent who did not make an NHL appearance this season and was limited by injuries to just six AHL starts with pedestrian results. While Lack has played in close to 150 NHL games, he has not been a regular contributor for two years and has not put up standout numbers for another two years before that. It’s time for Lack to move on with his career, and Leksands is reportedly excited to bring him in. The team was just promoted back to the SHL and acquiring an experience netminder could help them avoid being relegated right back to the Allsvenskan. Lack played for the organization for three years prior to jumping to North America and would be welcomed back with open arms.

2019 Norris Trophy Finalists Announced

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Over the past few days, the NHL has been revealing the finalists for their end-of-season awards.  Today, they announced the top three for the Norris Trophy balloting.  Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman, Calgary’s Mark Giordano, and San Jose’s Brent Burns are up for the award, given to the defenseman who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-around ability in the position.

Hedman will be looking to make it two straight years with the award after winning it for the first time in 2018 while it is his third straight time being a finalist.  If he gets the nod, he’ll be the first back-to-back winner since Nicklas Lidstrom won three straight from 2006 through 2008.  Injuries limited him to 70 games this season but he was the undisputed leader of Tampa Bay’s back end that allowed the fifth-fewest goals in the league which played a big role in their 62 regular season victories.  While the postseason doesn’t factor into the voting, his injury and eventual absence played a big role in their early departure at the hands of Columbus.

Giordano finished second among defensemen in scoring this season with a career-high 74 points in 78 games.  For perspective, his point total was in the thirties in the previous two years.  He also led the league in plus/minus with a +39 rating while finishing in the top-five in five-on-five shot differential among defenders with at least 1,000 minutes of playing time.  The fact that Calgary also went from missing the playoffs a year ago to finishing first in the Western Conference will also help his cause.  This is Giordano’s first nomination for the award and could become only the fourth defenseman to win it at the age of 35 or older.

Burns, who won the award back in 2017, led all blueliners in scoring with 83 points in 82 games as well as game-winning goals (six) and shots on goal (300).  He’s only the fourth defender since 1995-96 to average a point per game and is only the third one in NHL history to lead his team in scoring for three straight years.  His play in his own end can be shaky at times but he logged over 25 minutes a night of ice time and his production was higher than it was when he won the award with a 76-point campaign.

The winner will be announced on June 19th at the annual NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas.

PHR Mailbag: Flyers, Kadri, Smith, Holland, Sabres, Rangers

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This edition of the PHR Mailbag looks at what’s next for the Flyers, Nazem Kadri’s future in Toronto, Mike Smith’s struggles with Calgary, Ken Holland’s situation in Detroit, what Buffalo needs behind the bench, and the vacant Rangers presidency.

Questions that were submitted that aren’t covered here will run in a separate mailbag piece next weekend.

FortArnold: Disappointing season for the Flyers. They will have money to spend and most likely need to find an opening in their lineup for Morgan Frost. Where do you see them looking to add to this team and who may be sent packing?

Earlier this month, GM Chuck Fletcher acknowledged that his defense corps could get older next season which is a pretty strong inference that they intend to add to that position.  They have a very strong foundation of young blueliners in Shayne Gostisbehere, Travis Sanheim, Ivan Provorov, and Robert Hagg but none of those players are really ready to be true anchors of a back end at this time.  Aside from Erik Karlsson, there aren’t any defenders like that available on the open market so I wouldn’t be shocked if they turn to the trade market to get a number two or three rearguard that’s signed for a few years.  Doing that wouldn’t give them that anchor player but would give them very strong depth throughout the group and as we’re seeing, teams with strong defensive depth can still be successful even without a true number one option.

I also see them looking to add a second line center this summer.  Frost or Nolan Patrick should be that option down the road but he’s not ready for that role just yet while they probably want to keep Claude Giroux on the wing.  Doing so would also allow them to integrate Frost in as a winger, allowing him to develop without some of the tough defensive responsibilities right away.  They should be able to fill that void in free agency.

As for who could go, I don’t expect a whole lot of departures.  I know Gostisbehere has been in trade speculation before but moving him off a down year isn’t deal.  Their big-ticket players aren’t going anywhere nor will they need to move anyone out for cap reasons.  If they have to trade for that impact defenseman, I could see the 11th overall pick being in play and someone like winger Oskar Lindblom could work as a sweetener in a deal.  But beyond that, I suspect the departures will simply be the players whose roster spots are dislodged by the offseason acquisitions (players like Phil Varone and Andrew MacDonald).

JDGoat: Has Kadri played his last game in Toronto if they lose the series?

I don’t think so.  I thought GM Kyle Dubas passed up on the perfect opportunity to deal him last offseason.  They had just landed John Tavares and Ryan O’Reilly had been dealt which left the market for impact centers basically empty.  He was coming off another 30-goal season and had clearly established himself as a top-six pivot.  As a result, Toronto would have moved him at peak value.

Fast forward to today.  As expected, Kadri had a down year offensively (playing on the third line will do that) and also dealt with a concussion.  And as we all know, his suspension history is starting to be a bit concerning as well.  While I have no doubt that there would still be a significant trade market for Kadri, his value has still undoubtedly dipped compared to last summer.  If Dubas didn’t want to move him then, he won’t want to move him now.

Yes, the Maple Leafs will need to free up some salary cap room this summer with some big contracts about to hit their books but there are other players they’ll look to move to alleviate those concerns.  (Patrick Marleau comes to mind as a trade candidate after July 1st to a team looking to get to the cap floor while spending less than that on salaries.)  Kadri’s leash is certainly smaller now but he should still be in Toronto in October when next season starts.

sovietcanuckistanian: How short of a leash does Mike Smith get in the playoffs before they switch him out? He looks a little vulnerable and – on paper at least – seems to be the weak link on a potential Cup contender team. Thanks again sir.

You were onto something with this question (which was asked back when this series was still close).  Smith looked shaky in some moments but I can’t put all the blame on him.  Calgary’s defense corps is supposed to be one of the top groups in the league and they allowed more than 50 shots in back-to-back games.  I think that made it difficult to make a change.  Sure, he coughed up six in Game Three but he made 50 saves so it’s tough to make the case to pull him.  He follows that up with 49 saves on 52 shots the next game which makes it nearly impossible to put David Rittich in for Game Five.  Smith wasn’t great at times in the series but he didn’t get a lot of help either.

Goaltending was the one big weakness that the Flames had during the year and there wasn’t a whole lot they could do about it as no starting goalies were traded throughout the year.  Smith is a free agent this summer and I expect Calgary will go in a different direction with several other starting goalies likely to be out there on the open market.

Connorsoxfan: Why is Holland staying on in Detroit? Haven’t there been a ton of Seattle rumors? That’s not a realistic option anymore, right?

Seattle is still two years away from starting up so they don’t really need a GM or a full-time hockey operations staff for another year.  In terms of other GM vacancies, there’s only one in Edmonton and Holland has already informed them he’s not interested in that job, per a report from TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link).

With really nowhere else to go, why not stay in Detroit?  Holland can use the upcoming season to decide if he wants to stay as an advisor and remain with the Red Wings or if the itch to be a GM returns.  If it’s the former, he can stay where he is and if it’s the latter, his contract will be up right around the time that Seattle will be hiring and by then, there may be another vacancy or two around the league as well.

sabres3277: Which direction do the Sabres need to go for a head coach?? A veteran coach or someone else??

In this day and age, there isn’t much appetite to bring in a veteran coach with the reputation of being a disciplinarian but that’s what I think they need.  Their young core needs some structure and can’t be allowed to just willfully coast at times which is what happened down the stretch.  It’s true that these types of coaches tend to have a short shelf life but let’s face it, all Buffalo coaches seem to have a short shelf life.

I think someone like Dave Tippett makes some sense for them.  He has some experience working with younger players but can also crack the whip at times.  It’s notable that he hasn’t been mentioned in some of the various head coaching searches around the league though so perhaps he’s enjoying his time with Seattle and may have some assurances of a role on that staff when the team is closer to debuting.

Whichever route they wind up going, GM Jason Botterill needs to do a better job of supplementing their core.  He has made a couple of moves to help their defense but it still needs work.  The forwards need a better supporting cast to take some of the pressure off.  If those things don’t happen, it may not matter who gets hired as a flawed roster can only go so far, especially in a tough division with three of the top teams in the league at the moment.

mz311: With Yzerman now in Detroit, who are the top options to replace Glen Sather as the Rangers’ President?

As things stand, it appears the list of options begins and ends with Columbus team president John Davidson.  The long-time Ranger has had success in that role with both the Blues and Blue Jackets and certainly has familiarity with New York during his time with the Blueshirts.  On the surface, I think he’d be a great fit to replace Sather.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post points out that the Rangers haven’t been searching for prospective candidates beyond Davidson and Yzerman and aren’t even doing due diligence on other options.  That suggests that they’re pretty confident that they will wind up with Davidson whenever Columbus is ousted from the postseason.

If that falls through, I wonder if they’d take a run at Trevor Linden who held that position with Vancouver.  He’s comfortable with a rebuilding situation having overseen one with the Canucks and didn’t deviate from his plan to the point where he left when ownership was reportedly seeking a quicker turnaround.  I think he’d be a good fit in that role for them but it certainly seems like they believe they will wind up with Davidson when all is said and done.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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