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What Your Team Is Thankful For: Nashville Predators

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season passes the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Nashville Predators. 

What are the Predators thankful for?

A return to form for two veteran forwards.

The Nashville Predators have just four forwards that carry higher cap hits than Colton Sissons’ $2.86MM. If any of those four struggle, the offensive attack can become predictable and inconsistent. Filip Forsberg has been as reliable as any and Mikael Granlund has developed a never-stop work ethic, but the two at the very top of the salary chart had been brutal in recent years.

Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen combined for just 13 goals last season. Duchene has already matched that total in 26 contests this time around. Both players are playing at an entirely new level and now have 49 points combined through the first part of the season. Without them, the team was still going to be a middle-of-the-pack group on the playoff bubble. With them playing like this, Nashville is sitting in second place in the Central Division. Duchene has missed a couple of games with an upper-body injury and Johansen is in the COVID protocol, so their continued success is still something to monitor.

Who are the Predators thankful for?

John Hynes.

It didn’t look like this at first, but Hynes has secured buy-in from his group and has the Predators playing better than most expected. The team is on a seven-game winning streak at the moment and would never be mistaken for a club that is easy to play against (Tanner Jeannot and Mark Borowiecki will see to that).

In fact, Hynes is likely in the mix for the Jack Adams award if this continues. His overall record in Nashville is now 66-44-4, but that winning percentage is only going up as he navigates the 2021-22 campaign.

What would the Predators be even more thankful for?

A real breakout from one of the high picks.

Philip Tomasino is only 20 years old, so it’s hard to expect more than he’s giving the team right now. But his nine points in 26 games isn’t exactly what fans were hoping for from the player that dominated the AHL as a teenager last season. The same could be said about Cody Glass, a sixth-overall pick brought in during the offseason. Glass has spent nearly the entire year in the minor leagues and while he’s played well, that’s not helping the Predators right now.

The one that could realistically breakout this season? Eeli Tolvanen, who still hasn’t been able to produce big offensive numbers despite his peripheral numbers suggesting he will eventually. Tolvanen has been eating up easier matchups and offensive deployment to rack up shots but has just five goals on the year. That 6.5 shooting percentage isn’t going to last forever though, especially not with a player that is known for his ability to beat goaltenders from distance.

There’s no guarantee that he will break out, but Tolvanen certainly has the talent and is creating enough opportunities that it could come at any time. If they get some improved secondary scoring from their 22-year-old Finn–while Duchene and Johansen continue to succeed–watch out.

What should be on the Predators’ Holiday Wish List?

An upgrade on the third pair.

The top two pairs in Nashville have been set for almost the entire season. Roman Josi skates beside Dante Fabbro, while Alexandre Carrier has turned into a reliable partner for Mattias Ekholm. But beyond that, it’s been a little shakier. Nashville has leaned heavily on their top-four for years, but the idea of Borowiecki, Matt Benning, or Philippe Myers moving up the lineup due to injury is certainly not one that inspires visions of a Stanley Cup.

Acquiring a defenseman who was in the top-four somewhere else and has proven he can do that on a regular basis would set the Predators up for a long postseason run. It doesn’t need to be a star or a top-pairing guy, but an upgrade on Benning would certainly be a positive addition.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Andrew Copp, Kristian Vesalainen Enter COVID Protocol

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The Winnipeg Jets are supposed to resume their season on December 27 against the Minnesota Wild, but if they do, it will likely be without the services of a pair of forwards. Andrew Copp and Kristian Vesalainen have been placed in the COVID protocol. A support staff member has also been added.

The Jets were one of the few teams in the league that had no one else in the protocol, though they had dealt with absences from Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler early on. Hopefully, it will stop with these two and the team can get back to full strength before long.

Losing Copp especially will be painful given his huge role on the team. The 27-year-old forward is averaging more than 20 minutes a night for the Jets, including lining up at the center ice position. With 20 points in 30 games he’s on pace to set a career-high in several categories and his possession statistics are the best they’ve ever been.

In fact, Copp appears poised to land quite the free agent contract should the Jets allow him to hit the open market after the season. A middle-six forward that can basically play any role or position you ask of him, he’ll be highly sought after by contenders across the league. His one-year, $3.64MM contract could certainly be dwarfed if his current play continues the whole season. A stint on the COVID list certainly won’t help that case, but at least there is a chance he misses only a handful of games given the current break.

New York Rangers Sign Dylan Garand

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Not a bad week for Dylan Garand. The young goaltender was named to the Canadian World Junior Championship team–where he could potentially be the starter for the upcoming tournament–and has now inked his first NHL contract. The New York Rangers have signed the goaltender to a three-year, entry-level contract. He will return to the Kamloops Blazers when the World Juniors concludes.

Garand, 19, is expected to start tonight’s pre-tournament tune-up against Russia and has the inside track to the crease for Canada. He was at the tournament last year as well but ended up playing in just one game as Devon Levi stole the show. If he does win out it would be an impressive feat, given his competition in 15th-overall pick Sebastian Cossa and London Knights star Brett Brochu. Garand has played the best out of the three this season, posting an eye-popping .932 save percentage in 19 games for the Blazers. He’s 15-4 with a 1.85 goals-against average in those games as he continues to impress now more than a year after slipping to the fourth round.

Selected 103rd overall, Garand was the eighth goaltender off the board in 2020 but has done nothing but stop the puck and win games since. In 18 games last season with the Blazers he posted a .921 and went 15-3, while also getting his first taste of professional hockey with the Hartford Wolf Pack. That’s likely who he’ll join after his WHL season comes to an end, and where he’ll play in 2022-23.

Jarred Tinordi Recalled From Conditioning Stint

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While most of the league is settling in for the short Christmas break, the New York Rangers have done a little bit of transactional housecleaning. Jarred Tinordi has been recalled from his conditioning stint, a move that had to happen before the end of the day. Tinordi was loaned to the AHL earlier this month and would have finished his two-week maximum after the full roster freeze takes effect at the end of today.

So while this means the 29-year-old defenseman is back on the active roster for the time being, it certainly doesn’t mean he’ll be there for long. To be assigned to the minor leagues he would need to clear waivers, again something that would need to happen after the freeze lifts on December 28.

Tinordi ended up playing in five games with the Hartford Wolf Pack, including a game last night against the Bridgeport Islanders. He actually recorded the primary assist on Jonny Brozinski’s tally in the third period, his only point at any level this season. The 6’6″ defender is known more for his fists than his skill with the puck, but didn’t record a single penalty minute during his conditioning stint.

When Patrik Nemeth is able to return from the COVID protocol, there seems to be a good chance Tinordi could find himself on the outside looking in. Even before that, if the team decides to turn to a younger player like Zac Jones, who has racked up 17 points in 21 games for the Wolf Pack this season.

Morgan Rielly Placed In COVID Protocol

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are currently on pause with the rest of the league, but they are obviously still doing some testing of their roster. Morgan Rielly and an additional staff member have been placed in the COVID protocol today.

Rielly joins a growing list of Maple Leafs in the protocol. John Tavares, Alexander Kerfoot, Jason Spezza, Wayne Simmonds, T.J. Brodie, Travis Dermott, Jack Campbell, David Kampf, Ilya Mikheyev, Petr Mrazek, Rasmus Sandin, head coach Sheldon Keefe, and several assistants have all entered the protocol in the past few days. In fact, only Tavares and Kerfoot would be eligible to return for the team’s game on December 27, though that would require them to be activated at the soonest possible opportunity.

Because of those absences, it seems possible that the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets will also be postponed, though unlike some other teams the Maple Leafs actually could recall enough players to ice a roster because of the cap space opened up by Mitch Marner’s LTIR designation. Still, with Rielly, Brodie, Dermott, and Sandin (who is also injured) on the shelf, that defense group would certainly leave something to be desired–not to mention the fact that they would need Michael Hutchinson and Joseph Woll in net.

Rielly is off to an outstanding start this season, playing 24 minutes a night for the team and racking up 26 points in 30 games. The veteran defenseman signed a long-term extension in October and has been on fire ever since, scoring at a point-per-game rate since the ink dried. Losing him for any length of time would be a crippling blow to the Maple Leafs.

Russia, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia, Germany Name 2022 WJC Captains

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While there may not be any NHL hockey left to look forward to for the next few days, the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships are just around the corner. Pre-tournament play is imminent, while the round-robin slate of games begins on December 26. With the tournament approaching, the Russian, Finnish, Czech, Slovak, and German contingents have all named their captains for their teams, supplementing the announcements for Canada (Kaiden Guhle) and the United States (Jake Sanderson). Their captains are as follows:

Russia: Marat Khusnutdinov (MIN)
Finland: Roni Hirvonen (TOR)
Czechia: Jan Mysak (MTL)
Slovakia: Samuel Knazko (CBJ)
Germany: Florian Elias (2022-eligible overage player)

This is Khusnutdinov’s second World Juniors appearance for Russia. Drafted in the second round by Minnesota in 2020, he impressed last year with five points in seven games. Now, in his last year of eligibility, Khusnutdinov is tasked with leading the team in hopes of a medal. The skilled two-way center has four goals and seven assists in 29 KHL games this season with SKA St. Petersburg, impressive numbers for a young player on such a deep team. He’s medalled once before internationally for Russia, winning a silver medal at the 2019 U-18 World Juniors.

Another good defensive center finds his way onto this list with Hirvonen. Also a product of the 2020 Draft’s second round, it’s also Hirvonen’s second and final chance at a World Juniors medal. He had six points in seven games last year as Finland took home the bronze medal. He’s also performing well in his home country’s top league this season, posting six goals and 10 assists in 28 games with HIFK in the Liiga.

Mysak, playing with the Hamilton Bulldogs in the OHL, is the third second-round draft pick in 2020 on this list. Unlike Khusnutdinov and Hirvonen, though, he made the U-20 team as a 17-year-old, meaning this is his third chance at a medal. It’s his second straight year serving as the captain, with three goals and two assists in 10 games combined. He has 17 goals and 14 assists through 25 OHL games this year.

Knazko breaks the chain, as Columbus drafted him in the third round in 2020. Like Mysak, though, it’s Knazko’s third WJC and his second as the captain. The mobile two-way defenseman has two assists in nine games at the tournament. Now with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, he has a goal and two assists through five games.

Playing with Adler Mannheim in the DEL, Elias was passed over in last year’s draft. Playing with Ottawa’s Tim Stützle at last year’s World Juniors, though, he exploded for four goals and five assists through five games. He’s got four points through 21 games in the DEL this year, and now it’s his turn to lead the German squad.

Zach Senyshyn Requests Trade

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The third member of the Boston Bruins’ infamous 2015 first-round trio, Zach Senyshyn is also the one with the fewest NHL games played. He’s played just 14 times at that level, recording a goal and three points. For the Providence Bruins, he’s been a strong contributor, wearing an “A” as an alternate captain the last two seasons and registering 92 points in 213 games. But now he wants out.

Speaking with Mark Divver of Rinkside Rhode Island, Senyshyn explained that he has requested a trade out of the Bruins organization. To be clear, he said that he will report back to Providence after the holiday break, but believes it would be best for both sides for him to get a fresh start.

Selected 15th overall, Senyshyn was the third-straight Bruins pick in the first round. Jakub Zboril and Jake DeBrusk were the other two, both players who have also at one point in their careers requested a trade out of Boston. While all three have been disappointments relative to their draft position, the picks were considered all the worse thanks to the three players that came directly after them. Mathew Barzal, Kyle Connor, and Thomas Chabot were picked 16, 17, and 18. Senyshyn even touches on that specifically in his interview with Divver, which is understandable given that every media outlet (this one included) seems to mention the draft outcomes when he’s discussed.

In 21 games this season, the 24-year-old forward has 13 points with Providence and is tied with Oskar Steen or the team lead in goals with eight. He agreed to a new one-year, two-way contract in the offseason that normally would have left him a restricted free agent again, but, like Zboril, Senyshyn will become a Group VI unrestricted free agent should he fail to reach 80 NHL games by the end of the year. With 66 needed to hit that threshold, he’s not going to make it even if a trade went through in the coming days, meaning one way or another he’ll get a chance at his fresh start soon enough.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Montreal Canadiens

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season passes the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Montreal Canadiens (when it eventually resumes). 

What are the Canadiens thankful for?

Carolina’s playoff position.

There’s no getting around it, the Canadiens and Hurricanes have beef (manufactured for social media or not). After Montreal signed Sebastian Aho to an offer sheet in the summer of 2019, Carolina came back two years later and signed Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an outlandish offer that the Canadiens simply couldn’t afford to match. The Hurricanes didn’t make any attempt to hide the fact that it was a revenge play, even including the same verbiage Marc Bergevin had used initially in Don Waddell’s press release and adding a $20 signing bonus (an homage to Aho’s jersey number) in the Kotkaniemi contract.

It’s ironic then, that the Canadiens have so much riding on Carolina’s performance this season.

When Montreal traded for Christian Dvorak almost immediately after declining to match the Kotkaneimi offer sheet, they included a first-round pick in the package sent to the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes will receive the better of the two picks Montreal owns–their original selection and the one received from Carolina in compensation. That is of course unless one or both of the picks end up in the top-10, in which case the Coyotes will receive the worse of the two. Montreal looks destined to have a pick in the top-10 after this dreadful season, meaning it’s Carolina’s pick that will eventually transfer to Arizona. But there’s no additional protection involved; if Carolina somehow slipped out of the playoff race and fell down the standings, there’s a chance Montreal could be giving up quite the pick. Remember, the new lottery rules come into effect this year, meaning that teams outside the playoffs can only jump up a maximum of ten spots, but it would still be quite the nervous night if the Hurricanes managed to miss the postseason somehow.

Who are the Canadiens thankful for?

Nick Suzuki.

There hasn’t been much to celebrate in Montreal this season. Cole Caufield, the odds-on favorite to win the Calder Trophy according to many before the season, has just a single goal and six points in 23 games. Mike Hoffman, brought in to provide some offensive firepower has been injured, sick or ineffective and has just eight points so far. David Savard, brought in to stabilize the defense in Shea Weber’s absence, has been brutal and his four-year deal looks like a massive mistake.

Even Suzuki, the brightest star in a sea of dim light, has been underwhelming. He leads the team with 18 points through 31 games, but it’s his long-term contract that is something to look forward to in Montreal. Even if the team goes through a rebuild, they will know exactly how much their top center costs and how long they have him. Suzuki is signed through the 2029-30 and invested in the Canadiens success. Sure, had they waited until after this poor season to sign him it may have been a bit cheaper, but who knows if he commits to eight years after this dreadful campaign.

A comparison could be made to Dylan Larkin, who made it through the bad years in Detroit only to return to his explosive self this season when given some more talent to work with. Larkin hit a career-low of 23 points in 2020-21 and has 29 already this year. Even if it’s a forgettable year in Montreal and for Suzuki, he’s too good to be kept that way forever.

What would the Canadiens be even more thankful for?

A lottery win.

Listen, players like Matthew Savoie, Logan Cooley, and Danila Yurov are great talents and should have long productive NHL careers. But there’s a reason why all 10 scouts surveyed by Bob McKenzie of TSN put Shane Wright at the top of their board for 2022. The Kingston center was in a tier by himself in Corey Pronman’s rankings for The Athletic and colleague Scott Wheeler wrote that he is “not worried about his place at the top of this draft class” despite a rather pedestrian start by his standards (30 points in 22 games).

With the Canadiens now in 31st place, just a few points ahead of the Coyotes for last in the NHL, that first-overall pick is a legitimate possibility in 2022. Selecting second or third would certainly still help the rebuild, but nabbing Wright would lock in another top-six, two-way center that could give Montreal a considerable duo down the middle for 2022 and years to come.

What should be on the Canadiens’ Holiday Wish List?

Stalled young players.

While the Canadiens could and should target draft picks at the upcoming deadline, the team already does have quite a few to work with this year. They’ll pick seven times in the first four rounds even if they don’t make a single move, adding quite a few prospects to the pipeline. A more interesting strategy might be going after some of the young players around the league who have stalled in their development or need fresh starts.

Again, an example in Detroit could be of use here. The Red Wings acquired Robby Fabbri in 2019 for Jacob de La Rose, a player that now finds himself playing in Sweden. Fabbri had been a highly-touted youngster, but major knee injuries had stalled his career in St. Louis. Snatched for almost nothing, he rebuilt himself in Detroit by receiving top-six playing time that he wasn’t likely to get elsewhere and recently signed a new three-year, $12MM contract extension. If the Canadiens are going to clear some of the veteran names off the books, there will be opportunities in the lineup for young players to get back on track.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Canadiens, Kane, Sustr

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In their final game before being shut down, the Montreal Canadiens welcomed the Philadelphia Flyers to town. Things were going normally until the provincial government instructed that the game be played without fans. That caused “a lot of grumbling” according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, who writes that there is real worry about the reduced capacity in Canadian markets affecting the league’s revenue projections.

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic adds that if the Canadiens are still not allowed to have fans at their home games in January, some of them could be rescheduled to later in the season. Montreal is set to return after the holiday break on a three-game road trip, before the Washington Capitals come to town on January 4.

  • COVID-19 outbreaks are obviously not limited to the NHL, as many AHL teams have also seen players move in and out of the protocol throughout the year. One notable name today was Evander Kane, who entered the protocol along with Nick Cicek and Jasper Weatherby of the San Jose Barracuda. Kane, if you’d forgotten, has been playing in the AHL since his suspension ended last month and has eight points in five games with the Barracuda–the first five minor league games of his entire career. Now 30, Kane remains a potential trade candidate but he’ll have to isolate for the time being as he goes through the protocol.
  • There won’t be many minor league transactions today as the league goes dark, but the Tampa Bay Lightning did sneak in one more before things closed. Andrej Sustr has been reassigned to the AHL for the break, saving the Lightning a few dollars. The 31-year-old has been used in spot duty throughout the year, playing eight games for Tampa Bay and 12 for the Syracuse Crunch.

AHL Cancels 2022 All-Star Game

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Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation in Quebec and across the continent, the AHL has announced that they will not hold the scheduled All-Star festivities in Laval this year. The events were set to take place over February 6-7 and though they have technically been listed as “postponed” that is only in regard to returning to Laval at some point in future years.

AHL president Scott Howson released a statement:

The Laval Rocket and Place Bell have done an outstanding job preparing to host our All-Star Classic festivities this year,” said Howson. “But with the event only six weeks away and faced with ongoing challenges pertaining to health and safety, international travel, and group gatherings, the League and the Rocket organization feel it is in everybody’s best interests to postpone the event. We remain committed to bringing the All-Star Classic to Laval in the future.

This will be the second year in a row that the AHL will not hold an All-Star Game after last year’s event was also canceled during the shortened season. The NHL, on the other hand, is very much committed to hosting its event in Las Vegas at the beginning of February. In fact, with the Olympics now out of the way, the All-Star festivities may be an easier logistics project for the league.

For those players that would have been headed to the AHL celebration, there actually may be a better event to attend this year. Since the NHL isn’t going to the Olympics, AHL players might end up being selected for their respective countries. Likely only those on AHL contracts will be able to attend, as they did in 2018, but for many, that would still be a dream come true (despite the obvious challenges of these Games).

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