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Archives for January 2020

Latest On The Firing Of Jim Montgomery

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Dallas Stars fans received some clarity today on the abrupt and unexpected firing of former head coach Jim Montgomery back on December 10th. At the time, the team would only state that Montgomery was dismissed for “unprofessional conduct inconsistent with [its] core values and beliefs.” Now, information has finally emerged that can begin to fill the holes of the mysterious situation and the club’s vague response. Montgomery released a public statement today, announcing that he is entering an inpatient residential program for alcohol abuse, implying that this led to his firing, which he says was “the appropriate call”:

Losing my job as head coach of the Dallas Stars last month was a wake-up call. It was also the appropriate call. I let the team’s front office, staff and players down. More importantly, I let my wife and my family down. The team’s decision to end my role forced me to look into the mirror and decide whether I wanted to continue living a damaging lifestyle or get help. I decided to get help. I turned to professionals in the field of alcohol abuse for their guidance and counseling. It has been an overwhelming and a very humbling experience knowing that I am not alone.

Today, with the unconditional support of my wife and family, and many close friends, I took another step forward by admitting myself into an inpatient residential program, where I intend to take the steps to be a better husband, father, friend, coach and mentor – one day at a time.

Whether or not his alcoholism is the only factor that contributed to Montgomery’s firing – and it is doubtful that those full details will ever be disclosed – it seems that the loss of his job has inspired Montgomery to make positive changes in his life. His former employer continues to support him in this pursuit as well, as Dallas GM Jim Nill stated today that the organization is “supportive of this decision by Jim and we hope that by pursuing this help, he and his family will be stronger for it.” We here at PHR certainly wish him well in his path toward recovery.

Meanwhile, the Stars have continued to excel under new head coach Rick Bowness. Dallas is 6-3-1 since the change behind the bench and have shaken off the early season struggles. The team is now on pace for a 100-point season and could make waves in the postseason. Bowness, currently the interim head coach, is likely to shed that “interim” tag before too long with the way he has the Stars playing. Both he and the team deserve credit for not allowing the ongoing issues with Montgomery and the subsequent distraction of his firing to derail their season.

Corey Perry Suspended Five Games

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The Department of Player Safety has been busy today. Corey Perry has been given a five-game suspension for his elbow on Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis during the Winter Classic. As the accompanying video explains:

It is important to note that while we acknowledge Perry’s argument that he did not intend to elbow Ellis in the head, he is in control of this hit at all times and solely responsible for the end result. While Ellis is releasing a shot, he does not move sharply or suddenly in an unexpected that contributes to the end result of this hit. Perry acknowledges that he initially takes an angle of approach to attempt to make a play on the puck, causing him to cut in front of Ellis’ body. Now unable to make any meaningful body contact, Perry follows through with his elbow, driving it into Ellis’ head.

Not only did Ellis suffer a serious injury on the play—he left the game and has been placed on injured reserve today—but Perry also has another factor working against him. Even though he has played in more than 1,000 games, he has two previous suspensions on his record which only make this punishment more severe.

The Dallas Stars will be without Perry for almost two weeks, as the next game he is eligible for will be Thursday, January 16th at the Buffalo Sabres. Of note, that means he will miss the Stars’ first trip to Anaheim to take on the Ducks, where he played the first 988 games of his NHL career.

Dean Kukan Out Indefinitely With Meniscus Tear

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The Columbus Blue Jackets could rebrand as a hospital at this point. The team has suffered another major injury, this time to Dean Kukan. The defenseman has a medial meniscus tear and articular cartilage injury in his left knee and is out indefinitely. Kukan suffered the injury in Thursday’s game against the Boston Bruins.

Kukan joins an ever-growing list of Blue Jackets with serious ailments, and will have his season cut short—or at least delayed. That’s unfortunate as the 26-year old had finally worked his way into an NHL lineup on a full-time basis, even if it was partly due to injury in the first place. Kukan has played in 33 games for the Blue Jackets this season, nearly doubling his career totals after bouncing between the NHL and AHL the last several years. He also recorded his first NHL goal a month ago, and had contributed five points on the year.

Just the Blue Jackets’ injured reserve list—which doesn’t even include goaltender Joonas Korpisalo at this point—is now made up of Kukan, Cam Atkinson, Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Murray, Markus Nutivaara, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Josh Anderson, Emil Bemstrom, Andrew Peeke and Alexandre Texier. That’s a good chunk of the team’s regular lineup, meaning any success by the healthy group is even more impressive.

It’s success that they’ve experienced lately though, as the Blue Jackets are now 7-0-3 in their last ten and can legitimately claim to be in the playoff race. The team sits in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, but is now just seven points behind the second-place New York Islanders. If the injury run ever turns and the Blue Jackets get healthy, perhaps they can still make some noise this season.

Kurtis MacDermid Suspended Two Games

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The Los Angeles Kings will be without big defenseman Kurtis MacDermid for the next while after the Department of Player Safety handed out a two-game suspension today. MacDermid was given the ban after an illegal check to the head of Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov earlier this week. As the accompanying video explains:

On this hit, it is clear to us that while MacDermid may make glancing contact with Provorov’s shoulder, Provorov’s head absorbs the brunt of the impact and is therefore the main point of contact. It is also important to note that the head contact on this play is avoidable. Rule 48 does provide situations where a body check may be excused. None of these exemptions apply on this hit.

The check was not penalized by the on-ice officials, but Provorov did not suffer an injury on the play. Both of those things come into play in the decision, along with MacDermid’s clean history of supplemental discipline. That history only covers 71 games of NHL action, and will now be marred by this incident. Any future discipline will be increased because of it.

MacDermid will miss games against the Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets, and is eligible to return for the Kings’ game agains the Dallas Stars on January 8th.

Ryan Ellis Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Nashville Predators failed to protect their lead in the Winter Classic, and came out of it with a significant injury as well. Ryan Ellis has been placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, after taking a shot to the head from Dallas Stars forward Corey Perry early in the outdoor game. The team has recalled Alexandre Carrier from the AHL to take his roster spot.

Ellis was caught with an elbow as Perry went by him, leading to an ejection and likely suspension for the Stars forward. Even if he’s suspended for several games though, it likely won’t have the same level of impact losing Ellis will bring. The Nashville defenseman–who turns 29 today–averages more than 23 minutes a night for the Predators and has 28 points in 39 games. One of the best do-it-all defenders in the league, there are few situations where head coach Peter Laviolette can’t rely on Ellis.

Carrier, 23, has some upside as a puck-moving option but doesn’t have the same defensive polish, especially at the highest level. The fourth-round pick hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2016-17 season, though he was recently named to the AHL All-Star team for his tremendous start with the Milwaukee Admirals.

AHL 2020 All-Star Rosters Announced

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Just like the NHL did recently, the AHL has now announced their All-Star rosters for the upcoming festivities. The minor league will hold their annual showcase in Ontario, California, hosted by the Los Angeles Kings’ affiliate. 33 of the players announced are AHL All-Stars for the first time, including several top prospects around the league.

The full rosters:

Atlantic Division:

Andrew Agozzino, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Sebastian Aho, Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Jake Bean, Charlotte Checkers
Paul Carey, Providence Bruins
Chris Driedger, Springfield Thunderbirds
Morgan Frost, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Joey Keane, Hartford Wolf Pack
Matt Moulson, Hershey Bears (Captain)
Michael Sgarbossa, Hershey Bears
Igor Shesterkin, Hartford Wolf Pack
Jack Studnicka, Providence Bruins
Owen Tippett, Springfield Thunderbirds

North Division:

Rudolfs Balcers, Belleville Senators
Alex Barre-Boulet, Syracuse Crunch
Drake Batherson, Belleville Senators
Reid Boucher, Utica Comets
Nathan Gerbe, Cleveland Monsters
Charles Hudon, Laval Rocket
Jonas Johansson, Rochester Americans
Kasimir Kaskisuo, Toronto Marlies
Lawrence Pilut, Rochester Americans
Brogan Rafferty, Utica Comets
Rasmus Sandin, Toronto Marlies
Ben Street, Binghamton Devils

Central Division:

Alexandre Carrier, Milwaukee Admirals
Lucas Elvenes, Chicago Wolves
Matthew Ford, Grand Rapids Griffins (Captain)
Jansen Harkins, Manitoba Moose
Connor Ingram, Milwaukee Admirals
Kevin Lankinen, Rockford IceHogs
Joel L’Esperance, Texas Stars
Gerald Mayhew, Iowa Wild
Brennan Menell, Iowa Wild
Derrick Pouliot, San Antonio Rampage
Chris Terry, Grand Rapids Griffins
Yakov Trenin, Milwaukee Admirals

Pacific Division:

Joachim Blichfeld, San Jose Barracuda
Kyle Capobianco, Tucson Roadrunners
Kale Clague, Ontario Reign
Martin Frk, Ontario Reign
Glenn Gawdin, Stockton Heat
Lane Pederson, Tucson Roadrunners
Calvin Petersen, Ontario Reign
Matthew Phillips, Stockton Heat
Anthony Stolarz, San Diego Gulls
T.J. Tynan, Colorado Eagles
Chris Wideman, San Diego Gulls
Kailer Yamamoto, Bakersfield Condors

Dalton Smith Clears Waivers

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Friday: Smith has cleared waivers, but was still at practice with the Sabres today.

Thursday: After 86 seconds of ice time and two penalty minutes, Dalton Smith has been placed on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Buffalo Sabres forward earned himself an NHL contract recently and played in one game for the team, but could now be on his way back to the minor leagues.

Smith, 27, was actually selected 34th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010 but failed to bring any sort of offensive game to the professional level. The physical forward has 54 points in 340 career AHL regular season contests, but still earned a deal with the Sabres and a chance to finally make his NHL debut.

Though he didn’t play much, Smith was an obvious message to other players including Evan Rodrigues, who was made a healthy scratch and asked for a trade out of the organization.

There is almost no chance that Smith gets claimed at this point, given he didn’t even have an NHL contract at this point last week. He will be a recall option for Ralph Krueger and Jason Botterill down the road however, if they ever need a little extra toughness in the lineup.

Victor Olofsson Out Five To Six Weeks

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The Buffalo Sabres will have to hope Michael Frolik adds some immediate offense, as Victor Olofsson will be out for the next five to six weeks after suffering a lower-body injury.

For a team like Buffalo who has plummeted in the standings after a strong start and can’t seem to score goals on a regular basis, losing a young sniper is a tough pill to swallow. The team ranks 19th in the league in goals for, not nearly good enough to compete in the high-flying Atlantic Division. Olofsson has 16 of those goals, good for second on the team behind Jack Eichel, and has been the team’s primary shooter on the powerplay.

It’s clear Frolik will help this team, but the Sabres are still after more improvements up front after yesterday’s deals. The question will be who else they move from the blueline to accommodate it, as the swaps didn’t end up in any additional cap space.

Olofsson’s timeline puts him returning in the middle of February, with time to spare before this year’s deadline. Hopefully everything in his recovery goes according to plan and he will feel like an addition for the stretch run.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Ilya Kovalchuk

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Another NHL team has taken a chance on Ilya Kovalchuk. The Montreal Canadiens announced a contract for the enigmatic Russian sniper, signing Kovalchuk to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K at the NHL level. The deal is worth the minimum at both the NHL and AHL level, limiting the risk involved with signing the former Los Angeles King.

Kovalchuk, 36, comes to the Canadiens after agreeing to a mutual contract termination with the Kings that saw him walk away from several million dollars. Getting that kind of money again was never going to be in the cards, but by agreeing to a minimum-salary contract Kovalchuk at least signals that he’s motivated by the hockey opportunity that is available with the Canadiens.

That opportunity is immediate after Montreal announced that Brendan Gallagher is out indefinitely with a concussion. While the two play very different games, Kovalchuk can perhaps help to bring some of the goal scoring the team lost when Gallagher went out. There is reason to believe that even at an advanced age, the former KHL star can still put the puck in the net.

While he never fit with the Kings, clashing with coaches and failing to bring the production expected of a player earning $6.25MM per season, Kovalchuk still does have a wicked shot and nose for the net. In 64 games last season he recorded 16 goals and 34 points, and had nine points in his first 17 games this season before being removed from the lineup in November. That huge gap in playing time will be a difficult one to overcome, though he did stay with the Kings and continued practicing for a month before the termination came to pass.

The simple fact for Montreal right now is that they need to do something to try and get back on track. After sitting in a playoff spot through much of the early part of the season, the Canadiens are now sixth in the Atlantic Division and have lost their last four games. An 18-17-6 record isn’t going to cut it and if they want any sniff of the postseason they’ll have to start scoring more goals.

At this point there is very little risk for the Canadiens, but Marc Bergevin explained the situation from Kovalchuk’s point of view very succinctly at his press conference today (via Eric Engels of Sportsnet):

He has to buy in. It’s his last chance.

Adam Pelech Out For Rest Of Season

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It’s bad news regarding New York Islanders’ Adam Pelech, as the team announced the defenseman will be out the remainder of the regular season after suffering an Achilles injury. Sebastian Aho has been recalled from Bridgeport to take his place.

While Pelech may not have a ton of name recognition around the league, this is a devastating loss for the Islanders who rely on him every night to anchor their tight defensive unit. The 25-year old has been playing on the top pairing and averaging more than 21 minutes a night, while also logging huge numbers on the penalty kill. That kind of a defensive presence will be impossible to replace, even if Aho does look ready to contribute at the NHL level.

The Islanders will be tested without Pelech in the lineup and the Metropolitan Division is not forgiving this season. Even though they sit in second place, New York is just seven points ahead of the seventh-place Columbus Blue Jackets.

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