PHR Mailbag: Blackhawks, Sharks, Maple Leafs, Hamilton, Red Wings, Predictions, Bruins, Rutherford, Blue Jackets

Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include Chicago’s surprising first half, San Jose’s trade deadline plans, an emerging line for Toronto, Carolina’s top pending UFA, trade options for Detroit, goaltending forecasts, Boston’s potential for a big addition, what’s next for Jim Rutherford, and Columbus’ never-ending quest for help down the middle.  If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in last weekend’s mailbag.

parx: What is to be made of the Blackhawks? I honestly thought they would be awful but I’m enjoying this season more than past few, are they good or decent? Is this a mirage? What the hell is going on?

I think decent is the right word here.  They’ve had a few things go their way including Patrick Kane stepping up his game to another level, Kevin Lankinen at least temporarily solving the goaltending question, and some unheralded newcomers (Pius Suter, Philipp Kurashev, and even Mattias Janmark) all probably exceeding expectations.  Give GM Stan Bowman some credit, these under-the-radar moves have all worked out.

But at the same time, I have trouble thinking that Chicago is a top-ten team offensively over a full season (they currently sit seventh).  Lankinen has tailed off a bit lately and Malcolm Subban isn’t the solution in that number one role.  They’re also benefiting from Columbus underachieving, Nashville falling off the proverbial cliff, and Dallas scuffling with their injuries plus the starts and stops to their season.  A lot has gone better than expected.

The good news is that they’re somewhat comfortably in a playoff spot without a lot of pressure at the moment.  Kirby Dach is skating and should be back before the season is out which would be a nice addition up front.  It’s definitely a positive season for them but I’d caution against elevating expectations too much or thinking that their plans have been accelerated.  They’re on the rise but I wouldn’t call them good just yet.

mz90gu: The Sharks almost always make trades at the deadline. They do have some cap space; do you see them as buyer/seller maybe take on a contract for an additional pick?

It’s hard to see them being a buyer in the traditional sense given that they are nine points out of a playoff spot with three teams to leapfrog in the West Division.  But it wouldn’t surprise me to see them add a veteran player.

Cap space is at a premium this season and as you rightly note, that’s something they have a lot of.  As things stand, they could add nearly $9MM on deadline day, per CapFriendly.  While they probably shouldn’t be adding to try to make a failed run, how valuable is that space to other teams?  Taking on a contract to pick up an extra draft pick or prospect makes a lot of sense for San Jose whose system isn’t exactly the strongest.  Even acting as a third-party retainer in a trade while adding another asset (much like Toronto did in the Robin Lehner trade at the deadline last year) would be useful as long as it’s an expiring contract.

Of course, in a year like this, there are budgetary considerations at play and majority owner Hasso Plattner may not be thrilled about the idea of spending more money in a year where they’re probably not making the playoffs.  But if he’s okay with it, I think San Jose would be wise to add a player or two but more importantly, pick up the younger assets that would go along with facilitating the opportunity to help another team make a move.  Having said that, I wouldn’t be shocked if they look to move out a pending UFA or two as well.

MoneyBallJustWorks: Thoughts on the Maple Leafs’ new MEH line. Mikheyev, Engvall and Hyman?

I’ll resist the temptation to say the obvious but that line has been quite strong since it has been put together though it’s not one that is always together from shift to shift.  Zach Hyman, in particular, is having another strong season to the point where he may very well be playing his way off the team in that he’ll be too expensive to keep around.

This is what Toronto needed with their collection of lower-salaried players.  They need a few of them to develop some chemistry to create a reliable unit that’s greater than the sum of its individual parts.  This line does that.

I’d caution to enjoy it while it lasts, however.  At some point, Hyman will spend more time on the top line than with these two (yesterday’s game had him back with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner) and when Wayne Simmonds returns, I’m not sure they’ll be able to afford to carry Pierre Engvall on the roster anymore.  Simmonds is on LTIR and right now, Toronto isn’t in cap compliance to be able to activate him.  They have no regulars that are waiver exempt so someone is getting exposed and with most of Engvall’s $1.25MM price tag being able to come off the books if he was to clear, he may wind up being the casualty.

mikedickinson: Dougie Hamilton. What do the Canes pay their third-best defenseman, especially with how well Jake Bean is playing?

This is going to be an interesting case.  Hamilton has been great for Carolina and even with his offensive numbers taking a dip relative to last year, he’s still playing at a 63-point pace over a full 82-game season (compared to a 70-point pace last year).  His minutes are still that of a top-pairing player which is how his agent J.P. Barry will undoubtedly try to market him.  That Carolina plays others ahead of him and has Bean having a good season is largely irrelevant to Hamilton’s case.  His numbers show he’s a top-pairing defenseman which are hard to come by, he’s in the prime of his career at 27, and is a right-shot player (the harder to get side).  If the Hurricanes want to pay him relative to his role on the depth chart, a deal probably doesn’t get done.

Last week when word came out that talks between the two sides had stalled, Alex Pietrangelo ($8.8MM) and Torey Krug ($6.5MM) were suggested as the potential targets for each side.  I think the likeliest outcome is a bit lower than the midpoint, something around $7.4MM to $7.5MM.  We saw in October’s free agent market that top blueliners still got paid so even with a flattened salary cap, Hamilton will get a big raise from his $5.75MM price tag.  Can GM Don Waddell justify that price tag with nearly $20MM in commitments to defense already for next season and several other key pieces needing new contracts?  I think it should be.  Their success comes from having an elite back end and Hamilton is a big part of it.  Re-signing him may force them to part with Brady Skjei or try to entice a taker for Jake Gardiner’s deal but it’d be awfully tough to let a top-quality blueliner walk for free in a few months.

tigers22: Which Red Wings player would bring back the biggest return at the trade deadline and what kind of package would they get Mantha or Bertuzzi?

Anthony Mantha’s value this year has taken a tumble.  Last season, a reasonable asking price would have been a first-round pick, a high-quality prospect, and probably some sort of cap filler.  But this season has been a struggle and that’s putting it lightly.  His point per game production is at the lowest rate of his career (beyond his rookie year where he played in just 10 games) and his trade value is probably at its lowest point.  With three years left after this at a $5.7MM cap hit, the teams that would be calling GM Steve Yzerman at this point would be ones looking to swap similarly underachieving $5MM-plus forwards.  That wouldn’t make any sense for Detroit.

So by default, the answer here would be Tyler Bertuzzi even though he hasn’t played a game since the end of January due to an upper-body injury.  He’s a bit cheaper and the injury is going to limit his earning ceiling through arbitration this summer so that’s at least somewhat palatable to some teams.  But no one is giving up any sort of top-end value for someone who hasn’t played in six weeks and doesn’t appear to be anywhere near close to returning so Yzerman has no reason to even consider a Bertuzzi trade at this time.  If he was inclined to move him for whatever reason, the offseason would be the time.

In terms of who actually fetches the best return for Detroit between now and next month’s trade deadline, I think it’s Luke Glendening.  He has been in deadline speculation for a few years now but with his contract expiring, this is the time to make a move.  He’s still elite at the faceoff dot and there will be contenders willing to pay for that while his $1.8MM AAV will be easier to work in to a cap-strapped roster than someone like Mantha.  It won’t be a package of high picks and prospects (a second-rounder is about the top end of what they could try to ask for) but they can still add more assets.

The Duke: Any Crystal Ball visions for Jamie Drysdale, Rasmus Sandin and Arizona’s, Winnipeg’s and Nashville’s goaltending into the next few seasons?

Drysdale: Let me first say that I like that Anaheim is holding him in the minors and not bringing him up.  Could he help the Ducks now?  Sure, but I don’t want to burn an entry-level year in a season where they’re not going anywhere.  The AHL is still a good level to develop at and if they hold him down there long enough, they could conceivably recall him to the NHL roster if and when the OHL starts without being on the roster (active or healthy scratch) for enough games to accrue a season of service time.  He will be a top-pairing defender in the near future but while he may get there quicker if he was up now, he’ll be well worth the wait.

Sandin: This season is quickly turning into a write-off after he suffered a foot injury in his first AHL contest of the year.  This will slow his development but it shouldn’t hurt too much in the long run.  Toronto’s cap situation could force Sandin onto their roster next season anyway but he’s someone that will need to be developed a bit slower than Drysdale as Sandin doesn’t have the all-around game that the Anaheim blueliner does.  I don’t think he has top-pairing upside but if he became a 20-minute per game player with some offensive punch, the Maple Leafs would be quite pleased with that outcome.

Coyotes: The goaltending is a bit concerning beyond next season.  It’s hard to imagine Antti Raanta (UFA this summer) returns next season while Adin Hill (pending RFA) could be a backup but isn’t going to push for the number one role.  That leaves Darcy Kuemper as the only other and he’s just signed through 2021-22 and given his injury trouble, it’s hard to see him being the long-term starter though they’d probably like to have him as a 1B option.  I expect they will be shopping on the 2021-22 market for their longer-term option.

Jets: Connor Hellebuyck has three years left on his deal at a more than fair $6.167MM AAV and at this point, I see no reason to think why they wouldn’t offer an extension.  Of the three goalies they have on NHL deals in the system, I don’t see an NHL option out of any of them so they’ll be playing the UFA roulette market for backups.  Laurent Brossoit is doing well enough to earn another contract but given his inconsistency year-to-year, I wouldn’t go more than a year at a time with him.

Predators: Long term, Yaroslav Askarov is their guy, at least they hope he is but he’s a few years away.  Juuse Saros’ season has not been one to inspire confidence that he can be the full-fledged starter next year so I believe they’ll inquire if Pekka Rinne wants to retire or perhaps push that back a year.  Failing that, a short-term veteran platoon goalie (Raanta, Jonathan Bernier, or even David Rittich if they want a bit of upside) would be a likely target in July.

case7187: Is there really any realistic game-changers the Bruins can really get? I know JE has been brought up but let’s be real if they trade him it’s out West; could a team like the Blackhawks trade a guy like Kane for him?

Let’s tackle the second part first.  You’re correct in that Jack Eichel wouldn’t be moved to Boston as trading a franchise player in the division wouldn’t make much sense unless that team was paying a premium.  I don’t see Boston doing that.  Patrick Kane going back home would be intriguing but I don’t see him waiving his no-move clause to go to Buffalo with the state of that franchise at the moment and the Sabres don’t give up four years of control on Eichel to make that move.

This isn’t a particularly thrilling trade market in terms of game-changers.  Taylor Hall is the biggest name but he hasn’t been that type of player for a while.  Kyle Palmieri has been a scorer in the past and would certainly help but he’s having a quiet year.  I also believe they should be looking for defense and beyond Mattias Ekholm (who is more unheralded than the flashier addition I think you’re wondering about), there isn’t much there either.  The Bruins have the cap room to try to add (and I like Palmieri as a possible target) but I don’t see them adding someone that’s going to drastically change their fortunes.

One More JAGR: Where will Jim Rutherford end up? Arizona?

I know he wants to resurface somewhere but I don’t think there are going to be teams lining up for his services, particularly in the GM role.  He made a few questionable moves to try to extend Pittsburgh’s window and at a time where teams are starting to prioritize more cost-effective (in other words, cheaper) talent by developing from within, his tendency to trade picks and prospects isn’t going to necessarily be viewed favorably.  Rutherford’s rather abrupt exit has undoubtedly raised some eyebrows as well.

Does the 72-year-old want to take a senior advisor role with a team that he perceives could change up their GM within a year or so?  That’s probably his best path to getting back to a GM role but I honestly wouldn’t be shocked if he isn’t anywhere in the NHL next season.

As for Arizona, they just hired Bill Armstrong who is in his first season at the helm.  They’re not making a change that quickly.  Could Rutherford work as an advisor there with a first-time GM?  It’d make some sense but the Coyotes appear to be preferring a leaner hockey operations department and while they will eventually need to fill Steve Sullivan’s former assistant GM role, it’s hard to see Rutherford interested in that position.

Baji Kimran: My Blue Jackets are in desperate need of a top-line center. Other than kidnapping Connor McDavid, what might their best options be over the next year?

This is a tough one considering that top centers rarely become available and even if one did (let’s say Eichel, for example), Columbus lacks the prospect currency to really be able to get into the bidding war that would inevitably ensue.

So let’s look at the free agent market.  The top-scoring natural pivots are Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (who has spent a lot of this season on the wing) and Paul Stastny who is 35.  Neither really fit the bill and the next few options aren’t top-liners either in David Krejci, Phillip Danault, and Ryan Getzlaf.  Of those three, Danault makes the most sense but while I think he’d do well, he’s a second-liner at best.

But there is one longshot option that may actually be the most appealing and that’s Gabriel Landeskog.  Yes, he’s a winger but injuries and line shuffling have seen him line up down the middle a fair bit in recent years, including a little bit this season.  Colorado undoubtedly wants to keep him but if he gets to the open market, he’s a front-line player who can play center.

Columbus hasn’t had much of a track record in luring high-end free agents so this is far from a likely outcome; the Blue Jackets would need to blow the next highest bid out of the water.  I’m thinking $10MM or more which would be well above the $7.5MM or so he’d command as a winger.  It’ll take a max-term deal of seven years but he is only 28 so that’s not as much of a risk as it may seem.

Is it an ideal scenario?  Hardly.  And with Max Domi looking like more of a winger than a center, adding someone that isn’t really a center is risky, as is giving out that type of contract.  But they’re not trading for one, there isn’t a true top UFA natural pivot available, and viable offer sheets rarely happen.  It’d be a desperate move but it might be their best shot.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.