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Archives for April 2019

Offseason Keys: Detroit Red Wings

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While the playoffs are now underway, many teams have already started their offseason planning.  What storylines lie ahead around the league in what is shaping up to be a likely busy NHL offseason?  Next up in our Offseason Keys series is a look at the Detroit Red Wings.

Just a few years ago, the thought of Detroit missing the playoffs in three straight years was crazy.  They were the model of consistency around the league but all good things must come to an end.  However, they’re dealing with the drawbacks of keeping many veterans from previous years around and now find themselves attempting to rebuild.  They took a big step in that process last week with the hiring of Steve Yzerman as their new GM but here’s what else to watch for in Detroit.

Free Up Contract Slots

By now, most teams have signed a good chunk of their CHL draft picks from the 2017 draft class.  They may have one or two players left but not too many.  Then there’s Detroit, who have five players they must sign by June 1st or lose the rights to.  They’ll have to decide quickly whether or not to keep them or let them go back into the draft.  The list is headlined by a pair of third rounders in Lane Zablocki and Zach Gallant.

Perhaps part of the delay here is Detroit’s contract situation.  They already have 38 of 50 contracts committed for next season without factoring in any of those five aforementioned players or any of their upcoming free agents (seven unrestricted and seven more that are restricted).  Obviously, not all will return but if even half do and the team adds a few others in free agency, trade, or signing some of their June 1 players, they appear to be trending towards being right against the limit next season.

While that’s not a completely untenable situation to be in, it’s far from desirable either as it can limit their ability to make in-season moves.  With that in mind, expect Yzerman to try to clear out some of the clutter and give themselves some flexibility to work with heading into the summer.

Rebuild The Back End

Defense has been a position of concern in Detroit for a while and it really became noticeable this season.  Granted, they lost over 130 man-games to injury but there are question marks all over their back end.  Youngsters like Filip Hronek and Dennis Cholowski had some strong moments but had some shaky ones as well.  That’s understandable given their inexperience but there were plenty of shaky plays from the veterans which played a big role in them finishing in the bottom five in goals allowed.

The good news is that there aren’t a lot of long-term commitments.  Danny DeKeyser has three years left on his contract but the other veterans are either unrestricted free agents this summer or have one year remaining (Mike Green, Jonathan Ericsson, Trevor Daley, and Madison Bowey).  Niklas Kronwall is a free agent and while it looked like retirement was a likely option for him, he logged nearly 20 minutes a night and could still be in the plans for 2019-20.

The short-term commitments give Yzerman some flexibility to work but a lot of work needs to be done.  The Red Wings can’t bring back the same back end if they want to have better results so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to shop one of their veterans with one year left.  However, Green, Ericsson, and Daley all have some form of trade protection in their contracts which could complicate things.

Over the next couple of years, they will be able to backfill some of the looming departures with some of their prospects but they will still need to add from outside of the organization.  With that in mind, expect Detroit to take a look at some blueliners on the open market at the very least this summer but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to acquire a younger defender via the trade route as well.

Create Cap Flexibility

While Detroit has seen their streak of playoff appearances come to an end, their streak of years being right up against the Upper Limit has continued; they used nearly $7MM of LTIR relief to remain in compliance with the salary cap in 2018-19 which creates the potential for a small bonus overage if any of their entry-level players reached any games played bonuses.  With Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen both under contract for 2019-20, that’s not likely to change.

On top of carrying those two deals for players that have effectively retired, the Red Wings also have several other bad contracts on the books up front.  Frans Nielsen has underachieved since coming over from the Islanders and still has three years at $5.25MM per year left.  Justin Abdelkader’s production dipped to just 19 points this season which is not a good return on a contract that pays $4.25MM per season through 2022-23.  Even Darren Helm’s $3.85MM AAV for two more years is a bit high for his role.  Finding a way to move out one of those contracts would go a long way towards cleaning up their contract situation but as is the case with their veteran blueliners, all three of these players have no-trade protection in their deals as well.

Andreas Athanasiou and Anthony Mantha each have one year left on their bridge contracts before becoming restricted free agents with salary arbitration rights in the 2020 offseason.  It’s going to cost considerably more than the $6.3MM the two make combined to lock them up long-term so next summer essentially works as a soft deadline to get at least one of their bad deals off the books.  If they can do it before then and help their chances for 2019-20, it’d be even better for them.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Gardiner, Luukkonen, Hallander

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Despite a rough showing in the postseason while playing at less than 100%, Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner remains one of the top potential free agent defensemen available.  (He ranked 12th overall in our midseason power rankings, third among blueliners.)  With that in mind, TSN’s Darren Dreger suggests (Twitter link) that Gardiner is expected to command at least $6MM per season on the open market which would represent at least a $2MM raise on what he has made over the past five years.  The 28-year-old saw his offensive numbers dip from 52 points down to 30 this season but can still hold down a top-four spot.  While Toronto would certainly like to bring him back, that scenario appears to be highly unlikely given the big contracts they have on the books already plus winger Mitch Marner needing a new deal as well.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • It has been an interesting few days for Sabres prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. On the plus side, he was named Goaltender of the Year in the OHL, a nice way to finish off his time at the junior level.  On the negative side, it will be a while before he does any hockey-related activities as he’s expected to miss roughly the next six months after undergoing hip surgery earlier in the week, notes Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald.  Luukkonen was a second-round pick of Buffalo back in 2017 and posted a .920 SV% in 50 games with Sudbury before getting into a game with AHL Rochester before their elimination earlier this month.
  • Penguins prospect Filip Hallander is expected to be loaned to Lulea of the SHL for the 2019-20 season according to a report from Hans Abrahamsson and Tomas Ros of Aftonbladet. The forward spent this past season with Timra where he recorded a respectable 21 points (7-14-21) in 45 games while also suiting up for Sweden at the World Juniors.  Pittsburgh already has Hallander, their second-round pick last June, under contract but the deal contains a European Assignment Clause.

Pittsburgh Penguins Extend Joseph Cramarossa

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Saturday: The Penguins have confirmed the contract.

Friday: The Pittsburgh Penguins have reached a one-year extension with Joseph Cramarossa, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The two-way contract is worth $700K at the NHL level. Cramarossa was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer.

Now 26, Cramarossa hasn’t played in the NHL since 2016-17 when he split time between the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks. Originally a third-round pick, the former OHL forward has taken on a depth role in the minor leagues with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and will serve as injury insurance next season. In 56 games with the AHL Penguins this season he had 16 points, but racked up 116 penalty minutes.

Changes are coming for the Penguins this summer after a frustrating first-round exit, but some of their depth forwards will likely be re-signed to contracts like this. The team still has Adam Johnson, Joseph Blandisi, Zach Aston-Reese and Teddy Blueger as pending restricted free agent forwards, all four of which are eligible for arbitration.

Bruins Notes: Krejci, Pastrnak, Providence

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Following Game One against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy announced that center David Krejci was considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury suffered during the contest. Krejci was the recipient of a big hit from former teammate Riley Nash and left the game shortly after, followed by concern for his availability for the rest of the series. Yet, the Bruins were quick to announce this morning that Krejci is on the ice for morning skate, as well as participating in his regular spots on the second line and second power play unit. Officially, he remains a game time decision, but a successful skate would indicate that the veteran pivot should be ready to go for tonight’s game. Krejci has a modest five points in eight games for the Boston in this postseason, but has proven to be a potent playoff producer in the past and will be a key part to the Bruins’ continued run. Krejci has twice led the NHL in playoff scoring (2011, 2013) and just last year posted ten points in twelve games. If he can stay healthy, the Bruins hope to see numbers like that this year as well.

  • Line rushes at morning skate also revealed that Cassidy has shaken up his top-six, which has failed to produce through each of the team’s past two games. The switch comes at left wing, where David Pastrnak is back up to the top line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, while Danton Heinen slides down to play on Krejci’s line. Pastrnak may have six points thus far in these playoffs, tied for second on the Bruins, but has largely been held in check. Both the Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs did a good job of suffocating the dynamic winger, playing tight, physical defense and not allowing him the space to play to his strengths. The result has been long periods of invisible play, as well as frequent turnovers and poor passes. Cassidy clearly feels that time has come for a change and Boston will go back to stacking their top line with their three best forwards, hoping the group can find the same success as they did in the regular season. For what it’s worth, Heinen has been the Bruins’ best player this postseason from an analytics perspective, so there may not be a major drop-off on the second line as a result of the move.
  • The AHL’s Providence Bruins saw their season come to a close last night as they were eliminated in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs by the Charlotte Checkers, affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes – a possible opponent for Boston in the next round. The next step for several of Providence’s top players will be to report to Boston as playoff reinforcements. This is not inconsequential, as the likes of Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Peter Cehlarik, Trent Frederic, and Jeremy Lauzon all played meaningful roles for the Bruins at times over this season, while veterans like Lee Stempniak and Paul Carey were specifically brought in to provide experienced depth in case of emergency in the postseason. It would not be a surprise to see one or more of these players potentially draw in if the Bruins’ current lineup doesn’t get the results they want or runs into injury issues. The more exciting story line would be for top prospects Jack Studnicka and Urho Vaakanainen to find their way into the lineup, but that seems more likely to happen next season.

Golden Knights Owner Pushing For Major Penalty Review

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A series-defining call, or mistake in the minds of many, has lit a fire underneath the owner of the NHL’s newest team. Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley has already begun lobbying the league to make all major penalty calls reviewable after a controversial major ended up costing his team in the first round.

With a 3-0 lead over the San Jose Sharks in the third period of Game Seven, Vegas center Cody Eakin was issued a five-minute major and game misconduct for cross-checking Sharks counterpart Joe Pavelski, who fell awkwardly to the ice, had to leave the game, and remains sidelined for San Jose. Over the course of that five-minute penalty, the Sharks scored four times and ultimately won in overtime to eliminate the Golden Knights. The penalty was a blatant cross-check and worthy of a two-minute minor, but it’s hard to argue that a major was the right call. In fact, the NHL has reportedly apologized to the club for the call.

While Knights GM George McPhee said that he and the team would not dwell on the call, he apparently wasn’t speaking for his owner. In a press conference on Thursday, Foley informed the media that he believed a major penalty should be reviewable via coach’s challenge. It is unlikely that this was a passion project of the owner prior to his team’s controversial elimination, but it certainly is now. Foley stated that he has already spoken with league officials and fellow owners about the issue and expects it to be a topic of conversation at the summer Board of Governors meeting.

Foley insisted that if a major penalty review process had been in place, the call on Eakin would have been overturned and the Golden Knights would have won the game and advanced to the next round. However, the owner is only focusing on one part of the problem. Bad calls happen, but if your team cannot allow less than four goals over one five-minute penalty, it would seem that the penalty kill is a bigger issue than the league’s policies and procedures.

West Notes: Oilers, Beaulieu, Donskoi

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It appears that the Oilers are making progress in their search for a new general manager.  In an appearance on 630 CHED (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that   Edmonton has narrowed its list of candidates down to three names.  Two have been widely speculated for a while in former Toronto assistant GM Mark Hunter and current Vegas assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon while the third has yet to be determined.  Friedman suggests that Ken Holland would warrant consideration but there are doubts that the now-former Detroit GM would seek that position so quickly.  Interim GM Keith Gretzky could also be the other option being considered.  A decision on who to hire is expected after the World Under-18’s conclude on Sunday.

Elsewhere out West:

  • The Jets have interest in keeping defenseman Nathan Beaulieu in the fold, mentions Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe. After struggling with Buffalo, the 26-year-old held his own in a late-season trade to Winnipeg, logging nearly 17 minutes a night during the regular season although he didn’t see action in the postseason.  Even though they want to retain him though, his required qualifying offer of $2.5MM is probably too rich to justify, especially with all of the other prominent players to sign.  Accordingly, it’s likely that if a deal can’t be reached by the tender deadline in June, he’ll go unqualified with the Jets hoping to bring him back after he has a chance to test the open market.
  • On top of missing Joe Pavelski for tonight’s series opener against Colorado, the Sharks will also be without winger Joonas Donskoi, notes Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (Twitter link). He suffered an upper-body injury back in the sixth game of the first round against Vegas.  Despite having a career-best 37 points this season, the pending UFA has seen limited action so far this postseason, even when healthy.  There is no timetable for his return.

Nikolay Goldobin Linked To CSKA Moscow

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Canucks winger Nikolay Goldobin had an up-and-down season.  While he spent a fair amount of time on the top line, he was also a frequent healthy scratch.  Accordingly, some have wondered if he’d opt to re-sign with Vancouver or look to go back overseas.  The latter certainly appears to be an option as Sport-Express’ Igor Eronko reports (Twitter link) that CSKA Moscow of the KHL has interest in Goldobin, even suggesting that a deal with them is likely.

The 23-year-old has shown promise over his career but overall, he has yet to live up to his first-round draft billing after he was picked 27th overall by San Jose back in 2014.  He spent a couple of years in their farm system before the Sharks gave up on him, dealing him to the Canucks for Jannik Hansen back in 2017 who played in the KHL this past season (coincidentally with CSKA Moscow and he is not expected to return for 2019-20).

Goldobin received a lot longer of a look with Vancouver as he played in 38 games in 2017-18 after being acquired plus 63 contests in 2018-19.  However, head coach Travis Green has been critical of his all-around game, something that he will need to improve on considerably if he wants to lock down a full-time spot in the NHL, whether that’s for next season or further down the road.

If Goldobin does indeed go to the KHL, Vancouver will retain his rights assuming they tender him a qualifying offer (a likely occurrence no matter what).  He still has four years of team control remaining through the 2022-23 season so it’s certainly possible that a good showing back home could get him back with the Canucks before he’s eligible for unrestricted free agency.

Capitals Notes: Hagelin, Orpik, Niskanen, Smith-Pelly

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Carl Hagelin played an important role for Washington down the stretch, picking up 11 points in just 20 games after being acquired in a midseason trade from Los Angeles.  He saw an uptick in playing time during the postseason as well, logging over 16 minutes a night in their first-round loss to Carolina.  With that in mind, it’s no surprise that the pending unrestricted free agent told reporters, including NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link) that he’d like to remain with the team for next season.

For that to happen though, he’ll need to take a significant pay cut.  Hagelin has received an average of $4MM per season over the past four years and that’s an amount that the Capitals simply cannot afford under their salary structure.  Thanks to salary retention from the Kings and Penguins, Washington only paid Hagelin $1.875MM and the 30-year-old may need to sign for closer to that amount if he wants to stay with the Caps.

More from Washington:

  • Defenseman Brooks Orpik isn’t likely to return next season, notes Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. He was limited to 53 games in 2018-19 and logged a career-low 15:40 per night.  While he could still play a third pairing role for them, Washington has some youngsters in the system that could benefit from the open roster spot.  Khurshudyan also speculates that the acquisition of Nick Jensen near the trade deadline may have been with an eye of trying to move out veteran blueliner Matt Niskanen this summer to free up some cap space.  However, Jensen didn’t have as much of an impact after joining the team which could affect that potential decision.
  • The team has laid out a specific set of requirements for winger Devante Smith-Pelly to meet before they consider re-signing him this summer, notes NBC Sports Washington’s JJ Regan (Twitter link). He was benched during the preseason for what has been speculated to be conditioning-related issues while he wound up clearing waivers in advance of the trade deadline.  However, when T.J. Oshie was injured, Smith-Pelly was recalled and inserted in the lineup, suggesting that the team still believes he can play a role for them.

2019 Jack Adams Award Finalists Announced

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The finalists for the Jack Adams Award have been announced, given each year to the NHL’s best head coach. The three coaches are Craig Berube of the St. Louis Blues, Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders. The award was given to Vegas Golden Knights’ head coach Gerard Gallant in 2018, and Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella in 2017.

In 2016, Trotz won the award when he was still coach of the Washington Capitals after a 56-18-8 season. Two years later he would lead the Capitals to his first Stanley Cup, before moving onto the Islanders organization this season. Trotz has completely turned around those Islanders, changing them from one of the worst defensive teams in hockey to one of the best in short order. He put together a 48-27-7 season to get his club into the playoffs despite losing their captain John Tavares in the offseason, and has them in the second round after sweeping his old rivals from Pittsburgh. Trotz is one of the most successful regular season coaches in hockey history, with 810 wins to his name.

Cooper meanwhile is on his way to that same level of regular season success. Through his first 508 games he has authored a record of 305-159-44 (.644 winning percentage) including a historic 62-16-4 record this season with Tampa Bay. Unfortunately his Lightning were swept out of the first round of the playoffs, an occurrence that is not considered for this award given that the broadcasters vote before the postseason begins. Cooper has never won the Jack Adams before.

Neither has Berube, who amazingly is still not actually the permanent head coach of the Blues. The former Philadelphia Flyers bench boss was named interim coach when Mike Yeo was fired early in the season, but he found a way to turn things around dramatically and form St. Louis into a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. There is little doubt that he will be named the head coach after taking a Blues team that was in last place on January 2nd to the second round and beyond. Berube doesn’t have an extensive history as an NHL head coach, but it has been a successful one, as he now holds a 113-77-34 record in his career.

Some other names that were likely considered are Arizona Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet, who dealt with endless injuries but still almost got his team to the playoffs, and Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour who finally got his team back there after nearly a decade.

Flames’ Exit Provides Boost For Team USA

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The Calgary Flames weren’t able to create enough offense against the Colorado Avalanche in their first round series and hit the showers early, but not all of them will be heading to the golf course right away. Johnny Gaudreau, Derek Ryan and Noah Hanifin were all announced as the newest additions to Team USA for the upcoming IIHF World Championship.

The trio joins a group that already included stars like Patrick Kane, Jack Eichel, Dylan Larkin, Ryan Suter and Alex DeBrincat, making them quite the formidable group heading into the tournament. The US has not won a gold medal at the tournament for nearly 60 years, but did win bronze in 2018 with Gaudreau and Ryan on the team.

The full roster now sits at 20 players:

G Thatcher Demko
G Cayden Primeau
G Cory Schneider

D Quinn Hughes
D Alec Martinez
D Brady Skjei
D Ryan Suter
D Noah Hanifin

F Alex DeBrincat
F Jack Eichel
F Luke Glendening
F Patrick Kane
F Clayton Keller
F Chris Kreider
F Dylan Larkin
F James van Riemsdyk
F Frank Vatrano
F Colin White
F Johnny Gaudreau
F Derek Ryan

USA Hockey will be allowed to add five more skaters before the tournament starts on May 10th. One of those may be Jack Hughes when he is finished with the U18 World Championship, which will wrap up this weekend. The potential first-overall pick has 16 points in five games this season, giving him 28 total at the tournament which breaks the previous American record of 26 set by Phil Kessel. In fact, Hughes is within striking distance of the overall records both in a single tournament—Nikita Kucherov’s 21-point performance in 2011—and career, set by Alex Ovechkin at 31 points.

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