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Archives for March 2021

Five Key Stories: 03/01/21 – 03/07/21

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The opening week of March featured quite a few notable headlines across the NHL which are highlighted in our key stories.

Stepan’s Season Over: Senators center Derek Stepan had been in trade speculation for the past several weeks.  It was the likely outcome for a team that was expected to flip him to a contender and they were hoping to get him back to the United States where he could be with his family.  He’ll be able to rejoin them now but not by a trade as it was confirmed that he will miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury that required surgery.  Stepan’s season ends with just one goal and five assists in 20 games, hardly the level of production he was hoping to have in his final year before becoming an unrestricted free agent.  All of a sudden, Stepan goes from potentially being one of the better centers available to one that will simply be looking to have a bounce-back year.

Tarasenko Returns: Forget about waiting to see what the Blues are able to do at the trade deadline.  No, their best acquisition came on Saturday when Vladimir Tarasenko, their top winger, was activated off LTIR and made his season debut that night.  The 29-year-old has been one of the more dangerous scoring threats in the league when he is healthy and will give a St. Louis attack that’s already tied for third in the league in goals scored another level.  With several other players on LTIR, no corresponding cap-clearing move was required.

Seabrook Hangs Them Up: Heading into the season, Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook was expected to return but was ruled as unavailable with no timeline for a return.  As it turns out, there won’t be a return after all.  Instead, the 35-year-old announced that his playing days have come to an end due to a lingering hip issue.  Seabrook was a key cog on Chicago’s back end for parts of 15 seasons, playing in over 1,100 career regular season games plus another 123 in the playoffs where he helped lead the team to three Stanley Cup titles.  He remains under contract through 2023-24 and hasn’t officially retired which means he will be on LTIR for the rest of this season plus the next three although Chicago will be able to spend over the cap to replace him.

Calgary Changes Coaches: With the Flames scuffling and sitting on the outside looking in at a playoff spot, Geoff Ward’s tenure as head coach appeared to be tenuous and ultimately came to an end as he was relieved of his duties.  While that may not have been too much of a shock, what was quite surprising was his replacement as Darryl Sutter was brought back for a second stint with Calgary, signing a three-year contract.  The 62-year-old was behind the bench with the Flames from 2002 through 2006 during which the team made it to the Stanley Cup Final.  Notably, he’s a direct contrast from Ward’s coaching style as it appears that GM Brad Treliving believes a stricter bench boss will bring out the best from his underachievers.  Sutter had to go through quarantine before joining the team so his debut won’t come until they start a two-game set against Montreal on Thursday.

Wilson Suspended: Capitals winger Tom Wilson drew the ire of the Department of Player Safety again from a boarding incident on Friday night against Boston on a hit on Brandon Carlo.  While boarding penalties themselves typically don’t carry hefty suspensions, Wilson’s track record suggested a sizable one would be coming.  In the end, the league handed him a seven-game ban, one he has opted not to appeal.  It’s the fifth suspension of his career and will cost him over $311K in salary, an amount that would have been substantially higher had it not been more than two years since his previous suspension.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Mittelstadt, Trouba, Miller

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It has been a tough first few professional seasons for Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt.  A productive forward in his lone college campaign, the 22-year-old hasn’t been able to have much success offensively since turning pro.  However, he has spent most of his eight games with Buffalo on the wing this season instead of his natural center position with head coach Ralph Krueger telling Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that he’s pleased with Mittelstadt’s progress so far.  Krueger went as far as stating that Mittelstadt “looks to be crystalizing into more of a winger than a centerman”, something that may wind up being best for him down the road.  While he was drafted to play down the middle, Jack Eichel and Dylan Cozens are their one-two punch for the future and with Mittelstadt being waiver-eligible next season, Buffalo needs to find a permanent spot for him in their lineup before too long.  If that’s the wing, that’s a better outcome than him languishing down the middle.

Elsewhere in the East Division:

  • The Rangers activated defenseman Jacob Trouba off injured reserve, USA Today’s Vincent Z. Mercogliano was among those to note (Twitter link). The blueliner had missed the last eight games due to a thumb injury and actually came back quicker than expected.  Initially given a four-to-six-week recovery timeline, Trouba missed only three weeks of action.  New York will be expecting more from him offensively though as he has just three assists (and no goals) in 14 games heading into tonight’s contest.  To make room for Trouba on the roster, Artemi Panarin was designated as a non-roster player as his leave of absence continues.
  • Boston defenseman Kevan Miller is expected to resume skating sometime this coming week, relays Eric Russo of the Bruins’ team website. Miller was placed on IR midway through last month as his surgically-repaired knee was acting up but it appears that rest was all that was needed.  The 33-year-old has played in 15 games this season and is averaging 18:39 per game but given the recurrence of pain in that knee, the team may be better off giving him a smaller workload when he is able to return.

Minor Transactions: 03/07/21

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While it has been relatively quiet on the transaction front in recent days, there have been a few moves of some note from the AHL.  Here is a rundown of those.

  • Jordan Nolan’s time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has come to an end as Pittsburgh has released the winger from their affiliate, relays Tyler Piccotti of the Citizens’ Voice (Twitter link). Nolan had been away since mid-February with head coach J.D. Forrest calling the move a mutual decision.  The 31-year-old played in two games with the Baby Pens and last saw NHL action back in 2018-19 with St. Louis.
  • While a handful of undrafted college free agents will sign NHL deals in the coming weeks, many more will sign AHL agreements. The Rangers have jumped into that market as their farm team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed winger James Sanchez to an AHL deal.  The 23-year-old just wrapped up his NCAA career, spending the last two seasons with Arizona State.  In 26 games this season, he had five goals and 11 assists after putting up 40 points in 36 games in 2019-20.
  • With the WHL season underway in some divisions and starting soon in others, several players have recently been released from AHL tryouts to head back to their respective teams. Colorado is the latest team to do so as they’ve released goalie Trent Miner and winger Sasha Mutala from their AHL deals, per the AHL’s transactions log.  Miner, a 2019 seventh-round pick, will head to Vancouver while Mutala, a fourth-rounder that same year, is off to Tri-City.  In a corresponding move, the Avs re-assigned winger Ty Lewis from ECHL Utah to AHL Colorado.
  • The Kings have re-assigned goaltender Jacob Ingham from Greenville of the ECHL to AHL Ontario per the AHL’s transactions log. The 20-year-old is in the first season of his entry-level contract and has posted a 3.90 GAA with a .859 SV% in his first five professional appearances.

Snapshots: Blue Jackets, Islanders, Stastny, Yamamoto

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The Columbus Blue Jackets were forced to trade away center Pierre-Luc Dubois, who demanded a trade. Their return was very good in Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic, however, neither player fulfilled the team’s biggest hole — the one that Dubois left — the No. 1 center. And now, the Blue Jackets are looking for a way to fill that hole, which could be challenging, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required).

The team has a history of looking for a No. 1 center in the past as they struggled to find a top center to put next to Rick Nash. Not much has changed as the team has looked like they found their answer in Ryan Johansen and eventually Dubois. However, with Dubois gone and Max Domi playing on the wing at the moment, there again is quite a hole in the top of their lineup. However, Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said he’s looking outside the organization for help.

“We’ll keep searching and doing our job and building a team. We have some very good potential center ice men growing into that role within our team. But we’re also going to look for ways to strengthen that position from the outside.”

  • The New York Islanders are looking for some help for their third line, according to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta. The team is looking for a left wing they can pair with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and rookie Oliver Wahlstrom. However, the problem for New York and general manager Lou Lamoriello is that New York has little to no cap space to work with. So, in order to acquire that forward, the team will have to move out equal salary which will be challenging. Up until now, there has been no interest in Leo Komarov. According to Pagnotta, there had been some discussion of swapping Komarov for Brett Connolly, but talks stalled since Florida wasn’t willing to retain some of Connolly’s salary to make the money fit.
  • When asked in his most recent mailbag whether the Winnipeg Jets should consider trading Paul Stastny at the trade deadline, Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe was quick to answer ’no.’ Stastny, who has moved to the wing and suddenly finds himself next to Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, has played quite well in that role. With his quiet leadership and stability on the team, Wiebe believes the team will attempt to sign Stastny to a one-year extension to bring him back next year at a cheaper cost rather than trade him away.
  • Edmonton Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto has been fined $3,854 by the Department of Player Safety for tripping Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson. The fine is the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement. The incident (video here) occurred at 14:12 of the first period when Yamamoto pulled the legs out from underneath Andersson in front of the Flames net. He was assessed a two-minute minor for tripping.

Tom Wilson Suspended Seven Games

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Sunday: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Wilson has elected to serve his seven-game suspension and will not appeal it.

Saturday: The Department of Player Safety has come down hard on Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson, suspending him seven games for his hit on Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo. As the accompanying video explains:

On this play, the combination of Carlo’s battle with [Jakub] Vrana, his head being low as he looks for the puck, and Wilson’s angle of approach, combine to leave Carlo in a position where he is defenseless. Through no fault of his own, he is in a position where he is unable to brace for contact, anticipate the hit, or protect himself in any way from Wilson, who is approaching from outside his field of vision. 

The league admits that hits like the one Wilson threw happen frequently, but still believes the totality of the situation—including substantial contact with the head—elevates it to supplementary discipline. The NHL also obviously took into account Wilson’s history with the Department of Player Safety. In the video, they explain:

This is a player with a substantial disciplinary record taking advantage of an opponent who is in a defenseless position, and doing so with significant force.

Wilson has been suspended four times and fined twice in the past, leading to the seven-game ban. Carlo also suffered an injury on the play, which is also taken into account in these situations.

Obviously, in a shortened schedule, suspensions have even more impact on a team. Wilson will miss an eighth of the entire schedule with this new penalty and forfeits more than $300K in salary.

Trade Deadline Primer: Boston Bruins

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Although we’re not even two months into the season, the trade deadline is just over a month away.  Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Boston Bruins.

The Boston Bruins are a team that fell just short of a Stanley Cup Championship two years ago and the franchise is eager to get back and try to win it again this year. While the team has an interesting mixture of veterans and youth, many of Boston’s top players are getting older and time is slowly running out for them to earn themselves another title. Regardless, to compete at that top level, the Bruins will have to address some holes in their lineup.

Record

13-5-3, 3rd in East Division

Deadline Status

Buyers

Deadline Cap Space

$2,893,498 in full-season cap space, 1/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: BOS 1st, BOS 2nd, BOS 3rd, BOS 4th, BOS 5th, BOS 6th, BOS 7th, TOR 7th
2022: BOS 1st, BOS 2nd, BOS 3rd, BOS 4th, BOS 5th, BOS 6th, BOS 7th

Trade Chips

The most likely common trade chip for the Bruins is their first-round pick. The team has picked just once in the last three years as they have moved their 2018 first-rounder to the New York Rangers in a package for Rick Nash. The team also sent their 2020 first-rounder to Anaheim along with the contract of David Backes to get forward Ondrej Kase. The team has that option again as they will likely draft late, although considering the draft is considered weaker than most, that pick may not be worth as much either.

One possibility is the status of Jake Debrusk, who has struggled this year, could find himself on the trade market as someone who could be swapped for another forward. Debrusk, who scored 27 goals in 2018-19 and 19 goals in a shortened 2019-20, has just one goal and five points in 16 games, emphasizing his struggles. However, the problem is that teams won’t be trading top value for the 24-year-old, which could be an issue for the team depending on offers. On top of that, Debrusk will be making $4.85MM in base salary next season, another thing few playoff teams may be willing to deal with. However, Debrusk could be a big piece if the team hopes to make a big trade before the deadline.

One other possibility, though the Bruins would probably prefer to avoid it, but Trent Frederic could be a potential trade chip as well. The young forward has fared well in his rookie campaign and added some grit to Boston’s lineup. Of course, the offense may take more time to develop as he has just three goals this season. However, while Boston would prefer to hang on to him, Boston could be forced to include the young center if they team is trying to pry away a big name.

Others to watch for: F John Beecher, F Ondrej Kase.

Team Needs

1) Top-four defenseman – The Bruins have been ravaged by injury to their blueline with Kevan Miller and Jeremy Lauzon on injured reserve. Brandon Carlo is out week-to-week after taking a massive hit from Washington’s Tom Wilson. Zdeno Chara is now in Washington and the team is left with some questionable options on defense. At the moment, the team is using Jarred Tinordi and Urho Vaakanainen as their third pairing, which is something they weren’t anticipating at the beginning of the year. Don’t be surprised if the team looks at some of the big defensive names on the trade market.

2) More scoring — One of the biggest trouble the Bruins have had over the years is getting production out of their middle-six as those lines have struggled and little has changed. Nick Ritchie leads that middle six with eight goals this year, followed by five for Charlie Coyle and four for Craig Smith. No one else has more than three goals. That’s something the team may want to add if the team has the cap space and the assets to pull that off.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Central Notes: Seabrook, Red Wings, Radulov, Gardiner

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Brent Seabrook’s announcement that he doesn’t intend to return to professional hockey has other implications as well, particularly the upcoming expansion draft. Up until now, the team had Seabrook inked in as a player the team had to protect due to his no-movement clause. Now, with Seabrook being moved to LTIR and effectively retiring allows the Chicago Blackhawks some much-needed flexibility, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield.

The team no longer needs to protect Seabrook from the Seattle Kraken and expansion draft, which will allow them to retain an extra defenseman they weren’t originally expecting to be able to keep. Assuming the team goes with the 7-3-1 format, the team can now protect Duncan Keith and Connor Murphy like they had originally planned. However, now the team has the option of protecting Nikita Zadorov or Calvin de Haan, with Zadorov being the more likely of the two to be protected. de Haan and his $4.55 AAV are more likely to be traded at the trade deadline or exposed to Seattle.

  • The Detroit Red Wings continue to be without top-line winger Tyler Bertuzzi, who has been out since Jan. 30th with an upper-body injury. Head coach Jeff Blashill said that the forward still isn’t able to practice, according to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. The news is a little more promising for Dylan Larkin, who has missed four games with an upper-body injury. MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that Larkin could be ready to go on Tuesday, but Blashill said much of that determination will be based on practice Sunday and Monday. For now, he’s considered day-to-day.
  • Despite taking the ice Saturday in Dallas’ morning skate, forward Alexander Radulov is not expected to return to the team for another week, according to Dallas Morning News’ Matthew DeFranks. Radulov has been out with a lower-body injury and has not played since Feb. 4. Radulov has appeared in only eight games for the Stars this season, but does have an impressive three goals and 11 points.
  • NHL.com’s Michael Smith reports that Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jake Gardiner is ready to return to the lineup Sunday. The 30-year-old has been out since Feb. 24 and has missed five games with an upper-body injury. Gardiner has seven assists in 16 games this season and could return to his role on the power-play as well.

Predators’ Arvidsson Could Be Nashville’s Best Trade Chip

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While there has been speculation that the Nashville Predators will be sellers this year with another disappointing season as the team stands at 10-14, sixth in the Central Division, many experts are pointing fingers at  Filip Forsberg, who has just one more year remaining after this one. The 26-year-old forward is one of the few bright spots this year with 10 goals and 24 points in 24 games and there are many questions regarding his asking price (potentially in the $9MM AAV range) and interest in remaining on a team ready to begin a full rebuild. However, there is also speculation that the Predators asking price for Forsberg is incredibly high, making it less likely they will deal him when the trade deadline rolls around on April 12.

On the other hand, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta writes that a more likely candidate to be moved will be forward Viktor Arvidsson. The 27-year-old is in the fourth year of a seven-year, $29.75MM deal and for a three year period (from 2016-17 through the 2018-19 seasons) averaged more than 30 goals per season. However, Arvidsson’s play like much of his team, has dropped in the last two years. He scored just 15 goals last season and currently has just three goals and 12 points in 24 games so far.

Regardless, it makes sense that a possible revival in Arvidsson’s offense could easily happen on a contender. Add in that fact that almost everyone in Nashville is struggling would suggest that he can turn his game around. Throw in that Arvidsson makes a reasonable $4.25MM per year and is locked up for another three years, giving teams some security could make him an attractive commodity for many playoff contenders.

Of course Nashville has plenty of other candidates it wouldn’t mind moving, including pending UFA’s Mikael Granlund and Erik Haula. It might even consider discussing some of their top defensemen. The team also wouldn’t minding ridding themselves of centers Matt Duchene or Ryan Johansen, but both have contracts that might prove difficult to move.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 03/07/21

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There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day:

Central Division

East Division

  • The Buffalo Sabres announced they have recalled forward Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Brandon Davidson from the taxi squad. The team will also return blueliner Henri Jokiharju to the taxi squad. The 22-year-old Mittelstadt has appeared in seven games for Buffalo with a goal and three points. The 29-year-old Davidson has appeared in just three games with the Sabres.
  • With the Boston Bruins back in action today, they recalled defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and forward Jack Studnicka from the taxi squad plus Zach Senyshyn from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
  • The New Jersey Devils recalled forward Michael McLeod from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The 23-year-old has played in 19 games so far this season, recording three goals and one assist.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers recalled forward Connor Bunnaman from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The second-year winger has played in 15 games in 2020-21, picking up one assist.  Defenseman Nate Prosser was sent to the taxi squad in a corresponding move.

North Division

  • The Montreal Canadiens announced they have recalled forward Laurent Dauphin and defenseman Xavier Ouellet from the Laval Rocket and assigned them to the team’s taxi squad for their upcoming road trip to Western Canada. Both are likely to assist if injuries mount on that six-game, 10-day trip.  Forward Paul Byron was also assigned to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
  • As their usual paper transaction, the Ottawa Senators announced they have recalled defenseman Erik Brannstrom from the taxi squad and returned Braydon Coburn to the taxi squad. The 21-year-old Brannstrom has two goals and five points in 11 games since joining the Senators’ rotation last month.
  • The Calgary Flames recalled forward Zac Rinaldo from the taxi squad, sending defenseman Oliver Kylington to the taxi squad in a corresponding move, per Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960.  Rinaldo has played just once this season, playing just 2:04.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled defenseman Mikko Lehtonen from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The 27-year-old was a top point producer in the KHL but has managed just three assists in nine games so far this season.

West Division

Suspension Notes: Wilson, Carlo, Blichfeld

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So, the last time that Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson was suspended he received a 20-game suspension. Now after a nasty hit on Boston Bruins’ Brandon Carlo, he received just a seven-game suspension. Should it have been more? How do you explain that?

Well, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski does just that.

The scribe notes that the Department of Player Safety initially looked at the hit as a check-to-the-head incident, but decided that a boarding penalty had a better chance of earning a suspension. Even though the league has been shortened to 56 games, Wyshynski pointed out that the suspension was not pro-rated.

Even though Wilson is a repeat offender, having been suspended for two preseason games, 24 (reduced to 18) regular season games and three playoff games over his career, it didn’t mean that he was going to get a longer suspension than the 20 games he received on Oct. 3, 2018 (for his check-to-the-head of St. Louis’ Oskar Sundqvist), based on CBA rules. Rule 18.1 of the collective bargaining agreement states that “players who repeatedly violate League Playing Rules will be more severely punished for each new violation.” The Department of Player Safety doesn’t interprets that rule to mean that Wilson’s next suspension would be longer than the 20 games he received more than two years ago. Instead, it is interpreted that a repeat offender would receive a greater punishment than a first-time offender, although the fact that Wilson hasn’t been suspended for 29 months was taken into account. Hence the seven-game ruling.

  • Wyshynski also notes that while Wilson is considered a repeat offender when it comes to supplemental discipline, that wasn’t the case when it comes to money forfeited. According to the CBA, a player is no longer considered a repeat offender after 18 months without a suspension. Therefore, he only forfeited $311,782 from Saturday’s ruling. CapFriendly adds that had he been considered a repeat offender, he would have lost $645,833.
  • Samantha Pell of the Washington Post reports that despite early reports that Wilson received an in-person hearing, that wasn’t the case. Wilson waived his right to that and chose instead to participate in a standard conference call instead.
  • On the Bruins front, Carlo was taken to the hospital by ambulance Saturday night after the hit. The team announced that Carlo was released from the hospital early Sunday morning and is home resting. Head coach Bruce Cassidy said that he has spoken to Carlo and said the blueliner is feeling better. However, Carlo is expected to be out awhile, most likely week-to-week. A team that already has quite a few injury issues on the blueline, the Bruins will now bring Urho Vaakanainen into their rotation and have him play next to Jarred Tinordi on their third-pairing.
  • While no official roster moves have come from the San Jose Sharks, CapFriendly reports that forward Joachim Blichfeld, who was suspended two games for a hit on Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon, has served his two-game suspension and returns to the team’s active roster. Whether the Sharks intend on keeping him on their roster, send him to the taxi squad or return him to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL remains to be seen. Blichfeld was making his season debut Wednesday.

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