Archives for September 2021

Montreal Canadiens Announce Several Injuries

September 25, 2021 at 11:15 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

Saturday: Hoffman is expected to miss four weeks, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie. On that timeline, he will miss the first few games of the regular season.

Thursday: The Montreal Canadiens started their on-ice portion of training camp today, but they were a bit shorthanded. The team announced that Paul Byron, Mike Hoffman, Joel Teasdale, Josh Brook, and Carey Price all failed their physicals as they deal with various injuries. All five players are “most likely” out for the entire camp.

While the news about Price isn’t unexpected, the fact that Hoffman is going to miss all of camp came as a surprise to many after he signed a three-year, $13.5MM contract this offseason. The 31-year-old sniper is dealing with a lower-body injury and it is not clear if he will miss any of the season at this point.

Hoffman was signed to add a little more scoring punch to a group that finished 17th in goals for last season. They bid farewell to Tomas Tatar, Phillip Danault, Corey Perry, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, but should be getting a full season from young phenom Cole Caufield. One of the most consistent goal-scoring and powerplay threats in the league, Hoffman has scored 186 goals over the last seven seasons, including 17 in 52 games last year.

The Canadiens, who went to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, will have a difficult path to the playoffs this year. The divisions are back to normal, meaning the Atlantic Division is packed with the likes of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and Toronto Maple Leafs, all teams that finished ahead of Montreal last season. Early injuries can be overcome, but they certainly won’t make things easier.

Curtis McElhinney Announces Retirement

September 25, 2021 at 11:00 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 6 Comments

Veteran goaltender Curtis McElhinney was unable to find a team to sign with in free agency and rather than opt to try his hand at a tryout somewhere, he has instead called it a career, updating his Instagram profile to state that he has now retired.

The 38-year-old was never truly able to establish himself as a starter in the NHL but that didn’t stop him from having a long career as a backup. Following a strong season with Carolina as a 35-year-old in 2018-19, McElhinney was able to land a two-year deal with Tampa Bay that just ended this summer. He posted a 2.97 GAA along with a .895 SV% in 30 games with the Lightning over that stretch while winning a pair of Stanley Cups along the way; going out on top is never a bad way to go.

McElhinney played for eight different teams over his 13-year NHL career after being a sixth-round pick in 2002 by Calgary, spanning 249 appearances. He hangs up his skates with a 94-95-20 record along with a 2.83 GAA and a .907 SV% along with a dozen shutouts. PHR wishes him well in his retirement.

Snapshots: Staal, Shootouts, IIHF, Canada-Russia

September 25, 2021 at 9:39 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 5 Comments

Veteran center Eric Staal remains one of the more notable unrestricted free agents looking for a place to play this season. As Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic detailed in TSN’s recent Insider Trading segment, Staal’s preference would be to play in the United States over returning to a Canadian-based squad. The 36-year-old struggled considerably with Buffalo and Montreal last season although he managed to hold down a regular spot on the fourth line for the Canadiens in their run to the Stanley Cup Final. Staal’s preference appears to be returning to Minnesota which is where he played from 2016-17 through 2019-20 but the Wild aren’t believed to have interest in a reunion at this time.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

Don’t be surprised to see plenty of shootouts in the preseason. The league announced (Twitter link) that every game will have the potential to have a shootout and that it’s up to the teams to decide if they want to have one. This was done back when the shootout first came into the league back in 2005-06 as an opportunity for teams to practice and they’ll now have the opportunity to work on that element in the coming weeks.
Rene Fasel’s time as IIHF President has officially come to an end after 27 years. The IIHF revealed its election results today and France’s Luc Tardif won in the fourth and final round of voting with Fasel not seeking re-election. Tardif was born in Canada and briefly played in the QMJHL before moving to France in the late 1970s to play in France’s professional league. Meanwhile, long-time NHL veteran Pavel Bure was elected to the IIHF’s Council. Each will serve a five-year term that runs through 2026.
The CHL announced that the annual Canada-Russia series has been canceled for this season. The event, which sees some drafted and draft-eligible Russian prospects take on the best players from each of the three major junior leagues (mostly NHL-drafted players) in advance of the World Juniors, is expected to return for 2022-23.

Central Notes: Kane, Francouz, Coyotes

September 24, 2021 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane was slowed by a nagging injury last season although he was still able to be quite productive in the shortened 2020-21 campaign. However, as Kane told reporters, including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, the injury hasn’t healed yet although the 32-year-old is optimistic his recovery is going in the right direction. GM Stan Bowman clarified that the undisclosed injury won’t require surgery. Nevertheless, as Kane projects to once again be a top scorer for Chicago in a season where expectations are much higher following the acquisitions of defenseman Seth Jones and Marc-Andre Fleury, the fact that the injury is still lingering has to be a little concerning for Kane and the team.

Elsewhere around the Central:

Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz has fully recovered from the lower-body injury that basically cost him all of last season, relays Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The 31-year-old clarified that he had surgeries on both hips, the same procedures that former Colorado netminder Semyon Varlamov had during his time with Colorado. Francouz is slated to back up newcomer Darcy Kuemper this season with both goalies set to become unrestricted free agents next summer.
After a busy summer from the Coyotes, Arizona Sports’ Tom Kuebel notes that GM Bill Armstrong suggested that Arizona is unlikely to be too active on the trade front during the season. Among those that are now gone from the desert are defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Alex Goligoski, forwards Christian Dvorak and Conor Garland, plus both ends of their goalie tandem from last season. Armstrong hasn’t ruled out using the significant amount of draft capital he has amassed as trade assets down the road but with this season firmly being a rebuilding one, it’s unlikely those moves will come in 2021-22.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Philadelphia Flyers

September 24, 2021 at 7:57 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2021-22 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Philadelphia Flyers

Current Cap Hit: $81,118,523 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Wade Allison (one year, $925K)
F Joel Farabee (one year, $925K)
F Morgan Frost (one year, $863K)

Potential Bonuses
Allison: $425K
Farabee: $600K
Total: $1.025MM

Farabee’s second season was a good one as he earned an extension that we’ll look at closer to the end of this article. For the upcoming season, those performance bonuses could be met with a similar showing so either the Flyers will need to leave themselves some wiggle room at the end of the season or face a reduced cap for the overage next year. Frost was limited to just two games last season due to injury so he may see some AHL time but should be a regular before too long. With his limited production and game action so far, he’s a strong candidate for a short-term deal. If Allison lands a full-time spot, the ‘A’ bonuses in his deal could be achievable but if he bounces back and forth between the Flyers and Phantoms, those shouldn’t be an issue and, like Frost, he’s likely to get a short-term second contract.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Nicolas Aube-Kubel ($1.075MM, RFA)
D Justin Braun ($1.8MM, UFA)
F Derick Brassard ($825K, UFA)
F Claude Giroux ($8.275MM, UFA)
G Martin Jones ($2MM, UFA)
D/F Samuel Morin ($750K, RFA)
D Rasmus Ristolainen ($5.4MM, UFA)
F Nate Thompson ($800K, UFA)
D Keith Yandle ($900K, UFA)

Giroux, Philadelphia’s captain, has been a fixture in their lineup for the past 13 seasons. However, his production is starting to tail off and it has already been stated that he won’t sign an in-season deal. His next contract could very well be his last, especially if it’s a four-year pact or longer and it seems like a lot will be riding on how things go this season. Either way, his next deal should come in a couple million cheaper than this one. Aube-Kubel, as a role player, shouldn’t be commanding much more than his qualifying offer of $1.225MM unless his production ticks up this season. Brassard has seen his value dip in recent years to the point where he has had to settle for what feels like a below-market contract based on his production for the second year in a row. This seems to be his new baseline deal moving forward. Thompson is a capable veteran depth piece that can win faceoffs. There is always a market for those players but it typically is close to the minimum.

The Flyers paid a big price to add Ristolainen just before the draft to add what they hope will be an impact piece to their back end. He has struggled with Buffalo as of late but still logs heavy minutes which will keep his earnings potential fairly high. He’ll need to bounce back offensively to have a chance at landing a sizable raise on his next deal. Braun doesn’t produce much but is a steady defensive player. As he ages, it’s hard to see him landing a pricier contract next year but he could come close to his current rate. Yandle signed for cheap after being bought out by Florida and is looking to restore some value. However, he’ll be 36 for 2022-23 and will likely have to go year to year. An incentive-laden contract for that season would make a lot of sense for him. Morin served as a depth option both up front and on the back end last year and shouldn’t be able to command much more than that unless he locks down a regular role defensively. The recent report that he has sustained another significant knee injury will make that quite difficult to accomplish.

Jones has not played well lately which led to the Sharks paying him a lot of money ($10MM over six years) to no longer play for them. When he’s on, he’s capable of pushing for closer to a 50/50 share of starts and that would certainly help his case for free agency next summer. At 31, a good showing could land him a multi-year commitment.

Two Years Remaining

F Oskar Lindblom ($3MM, RFA)
D Travis Sanheim ($4.765MM, UFA)
F James van Riemsdyk ($7MM, UFA)

The second stint in Philadelphia hasn’t gone as well for van Riemsdyk. He’s still fairly productive – he tied for the team lead in points last season – but he’s more of a supporting player being paid like a front-liner. It’s not a massive overpayment but his deal has definitely become an above-market one and he will be facing a cut two summers from now. Lindblom’s first full season back from cancer was a quiet one. Similar showings would make him a non-tender candidate but he still has time to turn his fortunes around.

The Flyers were one of two teams to take a restricted free agent to arbitration this offseason as they did so with Sanheim. That guaranteed that they’d get a contract in place before training camp but it also gave Sanheim more leverage as he could have elected to take a two-year deal from an arbitrator to get to free agency early. They didn’t go to arbitration but he still got the two-year pact and the quick trip to the open market. He’s coming off a down season but if he can get back to his production from two years ago, he could be looking at a substantial jump in pay on a long-term deal based on what the defensive market was this year.

Three Years Remaining

G Carter Hart ($3.979MM, RFA)

Hart had a year to forget but his first two were strong enough to give him what was still a pretty strong second contract. He has the potential to be a high-end starter and if that happens, he could come close to doubling that on his next deal. The qualifying offer here is $4.479MM so if Hart doesn’t bounce back or is more of a 1B netminder, that could be a bit too rich for them at that time.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Cam Atkinson ($5.875MM through 2024-25)
F Sean Couturier ($4.333MM in 2021-22, $7.775MM from 2022-23 through 2029-30)
D Ryan Ellis ($6.25MM through 2026-27)
F Joel Farabee ($5MM from 2022-23 through 2027-28)
F Kevin Hayes ($7.143MM through 2025-26)
F Travis Konecny ($5.5MM through 2024-25)
F Scott Laughton ($3MM through 2024-25)
D Ivan Provorov ($6.75MM through 2024-25)

Couturier isn’t going to win any scoring titles but he’s a premier two-way center in this league and would have landed that price tag on the open market. The last couple of years could be a bit pricey but in the short term, they shouldn’t have any issues with that deal. Hayes, like van Riemsdyk, has been productive but is a bit overpaid relative to the role he fills which is more of a complementary one than a top one. That could be an issue down the road. Atkinson is making high-end second-line money and as long as he plays and produces like a top-six forward – there’s little reason to think he won’t – they’ll get a good return on this deal. Farabee’s deal carries some risk given that he has just 107 career games under his belt but he’s already trending towards being a long-term top-six piece and $5MM for that is pretty good value. Konecny is making market value for a second liner and that’s basically the role he fills even though he is coming off a bit of a disappointing season. Laughton opted for some security at the trade deadline when he signed this extension. Good third-line centers have made more than that in free agency and he’s at least a capable third liner so there shouldn’t be too many issues with this one other than the term may be a little longer than they’d probably have preferred.

Provorov may not be a true number one defenseman but that’s the role he fills on the Flyers. He’s in the prime of his career and is making a lot less than a typical number one defender gets. As a number two, he is making market value and if they keep relying on him as their top blueliner, it becomes a below-market contract. Ellis was their biggest acquisition on the back end, coming over from Nashville. He should take some of the pressure off Provorov and will be a key cog offensively. As long as he plays in their top two, they’ll get a good return on this deal.

Buyouts

G Ilya Bryzgalov ($1.643MM through 2026-27, $0 cap hit as it was a cap-exempt buyout)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Couturier (current contract, not next year’s extension)
Worst Value: Hayes

Looking Ahead

The Flyers project to be tight to the salary cap all season long and will need to be healthy to bank enough space to add an impact player at the deadline. Looking ahead to next summer, with nearly $66M in commitments already, keeping both Giroux and Ristolainen and having enough space to fill out the rest of their roster could be a bit difficult.

Long term, Philadelphia has over $47MM in commitments for 2024-25 already which is near the top of the league in that regard; that number will certainly go up if Giroux and/or Ristolainen re-sign while Hart will be in line for a new deal at that point as well. The odds of them being able to add another core piece will be low as a result with the cap not expected to go up much between now and then. The long-term core is pretty much in place already and any changes will need to come on the trade front. GM Chuck Fletcher has already shown an ability to make core-changing trades based on his moves this summer and more could be coming down the road if this team is unable to get into contention.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Stars Notes: Bishop, Offseason Targets, L’Esperance

September 24, 2021 at 6:54 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Dallas goaltender Ben Bishop is participating in training camp but don’t expect him to be ready for the season opener. Instead, his goal is much simpler as he told Mike Heika of the Stars’ team website is that he’s hoping to simply be able to play at some point during the year. The 34-year-old has dealt with lingering knee issues that have seen him undergo two surgeries and the uncertainty surrounding his availability for the season led them to sign Braden Holtby to join holdovers Anton Khudobin and Jake Oettinger. As Heika notes, the Stars will need to free up cap space in order to have Bishop on the active roster so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them be very cautious in bringing Bishop back to the point where he maybe starts on LTIR for a few weeks to buy them some more time to evaluate him.

Florida Panthers Sign Justin Sourdif

September 24, 2021 at 4:30 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

The Florida Panthers have agreed to terms with Justin Sourdif on his three-year, entry-level contract. The young forward was one of the team’s 2020 draft selections and is at training camp with the team currently. The deal will carry a cap hit of $870K in the NHL according to CapFriendly. Panthers GM Bill Zito released a short statement on his newest player:

Justin is a dynamic forward who plays the game with speed and skill. He demonstrated his abilities as a playmaker in the WHL and we look forward to his development within our organization.

Sourdif, 19, was the 87th player selected last October, and spent this season back with his WHL Vancouver Giants. It was something of a breakout campaign for the right-handed forward, who scored 11 goals and 34 points in 22 games. That was the first time Sourdif had even been a point-per-game player at the junior level, signaling just how much of a jump he has made since his draft. He was even one of the players invited to Canada’s World Junior camp this summer, though the forward group for the upcoming tournament is going to be difficult to crack.

It’s not that a breakout was totally unforeseen. Sourdif had obvious talent, but his consistency wavered at times during the early part of his junior career. Despite just 54 points in 57 games during his draft year, he was still ranked 23rd among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. Some even believed he could be a late first-round selection if a team fell in love with the offensive upside, though he eventually did fall to the third round. If the Panthers can develop that talent correctly, there’s a chance they could have an impact player on their hands. That is still several years down the road though, as Sourdif will return to the WHL this season to build on that shortened 2020-21 campaign.

Minnesota Wild Announce Front Office Changes

September 24, 2021 at 4:25 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

The Minnesota Wild have reorganized their front office, announcing several promotions and a few interesting hires. Chris O’Hearn, who previously worked as the team’s director of hockey operations, has been promoted to assistant general manager. Michael Murray, who previously served as an assistant to the general manager, will now be the team’s director of hockey operations and the general manager of the Iowa Wild. Mat Sells has been promoted to vice president of hockey, while J.P. Perpich and Matt Carle have joined as amateur scouts, the latter in a part-time role.

O’Hearn, 39, served with the Arizona Coyotes for more than a decade before coming to Minnesota, and for three years held the same AGM role there that he now has with the Wild. The young executive comes from a hockey family, as his father Mike O’Hearn was an AGM with the Winnipeg Jets in the mid-nineties. With the Wild, O’Hearn will be responsible for player contract research and negotiations, scheduling, salary arbitration and salary cap management.

Murray, 41, joined the Wild less than a year ago as a special assistant to GM Bill Guerin, but will now take over the day-to-day hockey operations, assist in contract negotiations, player development, and scouting. That’s in addition to taking over as GM of Iowa, but that shouldn’t be a problem given his familiarity with the AHL. Murray spent nearly a decade as the minor league’s vice president of hockey operations and before that had experience in the league office of the ECHL.

The addition that may draw the most attention though is Carle, who suited up more than 800 times in the NHL over a long career. It ended in 2017, but it appears as though he’s ready to get back into the NHL, at least part-time. A Hobey Baker award winner, two-time NCAA champion, and World Junior gold medalist, he should certainly have a handle on what it takes to make the transition from the college ranks to the NHL.

Calgary Flames Sign Jeremie Poirier

September 24, 2021 at 3:17 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

The Calgary Flames have inked one of their 2020 draft picks, signing Jeremie Poirier to a three-year entry-level contract. The young defenseman was selected 72nd overall in 2020 and is currently attending training camp with the team.

Poirier, 19, will be heading back to the QMJHL this season where he has racked up a ton of points over the last two years. In just 33 games during 2020-21 he had 37 points and he led all defenders in goals with 20 during the 2019-20 season. A high-flying, offensive defenseman, he will need to find a balance between his risky play and a more conservative approach at the professional level, but that may not matter for his CHL season. Poirier could very well lead all QMJHL defensemen in scoring this year, should he stay healthy.

Because he’s still young enough, the first year of this entry-level deal will not be burned in 2021-22. Instead, it will slide forward meaning Poirier is essentially under contract through 2024-25 with this new deal. There’s quite a bit of development still to go, but he possesses real offensive upside that could help him reach the NHL level.

NHL Announces Stricter Enforcement For Cross-Checking

September 24, 2021 at 3:14 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 12 Comments

For months now, there has been reporting indicating that the league was going to put a new focus on cross-checking this season, penalizing it more strictly. Today, the league even released a video announcing its new, stricter enforcement guidelines, giving examples of the kind of plays that will now be expected to draw penalties. Examples along the boards, in front of the net and in open ice on the rush are shown. Though the league is clear this is not a rule change, it is a change to the interpretation of rule 59 which currently reads:

Cross-checking: The action of using the shaft of the stick between the two hands to forcefully check an opponent.

The wording is not being changed, but the video explains that it is a judgment call made by an official that will be done differently this season.

Although not a change to the rule, beginning in the 2021-22 season, there will be a stricter enforcement of rule 59.

Officials may allow players to use the shaft of the stick to guide or push an opponent without assessing a penalty. However, if the guiding or pushing is judged to be excessive, an interference penalty may be assessed.

Players and coaches alike have long cried out for change to the cross-checking enforcement, given the punishment that has been allowed in front of the net. If this rule is truly enforced differently this upcoming season, there may be a significant change to the way players defend, especially on the penalty kill. As with any judgment call though, it remains to be seen how strictly the officials actually call these listed offenses.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Headlines