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Archives for March 2022

Trade Deadline Primer: Edmonton Oilers

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As the calendar turns to March, the trade deadline is inching closer. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Edmonton Oilers.

There is a lot of pressure on the Edmonton Oilers this season. The team boasts two of the NHL’s premier offensive talents, but has been unable to find any sort of consistent play, and as a result is on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. They sit a point behind the Dallas Stars for the second wild-card spot (with two extra games played) and two points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division. The Oilers got off to a blazing start, but then went on a brutal stretch of games that ended up costing coach Dave Tippett his job. The season is now in the hands of interim coach Jay Woodcroft, and as the deadline nears the heat is on GM Ken Holland to fix the issues with his roster in order to provide Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl with the best chance to truly threaten for a Stanley Cup for the first time in their careers.

Record

30-22-4, 4th in the Pacific

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$1.96MM today, $1.96MM in full-season space, 43/50 contracts used, 1/3 retention slots used per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2022: EDM 1st, EDM 2nd*, EDM 5th, EDM 6th, EDM 7th

2023: EDM 1st, EDM 2nd, EDM 3rd, EDM 4th, EDM 5th, EDM 6th, EDM 7th

* Per the terms of the offseason Duncan Keith trade, if the Oilers make the 2022 Stanley Cup Final and Keith is inside the Oilers’ top-four highest time-on-ice for defenseman during those first three rounds of their playoff run, the Chicago Blackhawks will receive Edmonton’s 2022 2nd instead of the 2022 3rd they are currently owed.

Trade Chips

Much of the conversation surrounding the Oilers this season concerns their goaltending, and it’s not difficult to see why. Their tandem of Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen has been challenging, to say the least. Smith, 39, has an .891 save percentage so far this season. Koskinen, 33, has been slightly better, with a mark of .904 in 31 starts. Koskinen is more important for the deadline, though, because of his cap hit. He is on an expiring contract that has a $4.5MM cap hit, a number that the Oilers would likely be eager to ship out in order to facilitate adding additional players to a roster without much wiggle room under the cap. The issue with trading Koskinen, though, is that he has trade protection on his contract. Koskinen is allowed to submit a no-trade list of 15 teams, per CapFriendly, and that reality combined with his play this season could make him a difficult asset to move despite how beneficial it could be for the Oilers.

Pivoting from goaltending, if the Oilers do wish to make upgrades to their team at the deadline they could potentially need to part ways with players on their NHL roster to make a deal work. One of those players who could be moved is winger Kailer Yamamoto. Yamamoto, 23, is the 22nd overall pick from the 2017 draft who has flashed great offensive talent at the NHL level but has yet to put together his game on a more consistent basis. After a brilliant 27-game stretch with the Oilers in 2019-2020 where he had 26 points, Yamamoto struggled to re-capture that offensive spark. He has only 20 points in 55 games this season and had 21 points in 52 games last season, marks that are clearly lower than what a five-foot-eight, skilled offensive player would be expected to produce at the NHL level. But despite those struggles with consistency, Yamamoto remains a somewhat tantalizing offensive talent who has scored at a high level earlier in his career. Given his age and status as a former top prospect, Yamamoto could be a player other teams target to receive in return for the player they send to the Oilers.

If the Oilers need to create some cap space in order to faciliate bigger additions at the deadline, but moving Koskinen’s contract proves to be impossible given his no-trade protection or $4.5MM cap hit, a player who could be shipped out instead (for more modest savings) is center Kyle Turris. Turris is a longtime NHL veteran who was the 3rd overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft and starred with the Ottawa Senators from 2011-12 season to the 2017-18 campaign, when he was included in the blockbuster Matt Duchene trade. Since that point, Turris has struggled to maintain his form as an NHL scoring center. He was bought out of a massive extension with the Nashville Predators, and signed a two-year contract with the Oilers in the 2020 offseason with the idea that he could be a strong third-line-center for the club. Since signing, Turris has continued his struggles and has only nine total points in his 50 games in Edmonton over two seasons. With a cap hit of $1.65MM, he would provide some relatively minor (but still potentially crucial) savings for the Oilers if he is shipped away at the deadline.

Others to Watch For: F Tyler Benson, D Tyson Barrie, D Dmitri Samorukov

Team Needs

1) Quality Goaltending

The Oilers are desperate to make noise in the playoffs this season, something that has not really happened in the McDavid-Draisaitl era. In order to make noise in the playoffs, teams typically need exceptional goaltending. What the Oilers have received from their Koskinen-Smith tandem this season has been far from exceptional, as mentioned before. If Holland is serious about wanting his team to earnestly compete for a Stanley Cup, they simply must have a different goalie starting playoff games for them this spring. Barring some unforeseen miracle, a long playoff run will probably not be possible with Koskinen or Smith minding the crease.

2) Defensive Reinforcements

Evan Bouchard has impressed this season, but if the Oilers are to be Stanley Cup contenders they will need to add some help to their defense. Darnell Nurse is a star, and Keith has had a great career, but as currently constructed their defense is a flawed unit that rarely does its goaltending many favors. We all know that playoff hockey is a different beast than the regular season grind, and perhaps adding some muscle and experience to reinforce a defense populated with offensively-oriented players like Barrie and Bouchard could make for a more well-rounded unit.

3) Additional Scoring Depth

Looking at the situation from a strictly on-ice perspective, Evander Kane has been an important addition for an Oilers team with some issues getting reliable scoring outside of their two offensive dynamos. Adding more experienced offensive scorers to this roster could help them down the stretch as they are currently a bit too reliant on their dynamic power play to create goals. Adding some additional scoring depth should not be the first priority for Holland’s deadline, goaltending is far more crucial, but the team’s issues scoring sustainably at five-on-five is something to definitely keep an eye on.

Photo Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

 

 

Capitals Issue Injury Updates On Carl Hagelin, Joe Snively

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The Washington Capitals have announced updates to the injury situations of two of their wingers. Per the team, Carl Hagelin had surgery on his left eye, and will be out “indefinitely.” Additionally, rookie Joe Snively underwent a procedure to address an issue in his left wrist and, according to the team, will be out “four to six weeks.”

This news comes as the Capitals jockey for position in the Eastern Conference’s playoff picture. The team has a middling 5-5-0 record in their last ten games and with 69 points is set as the clear second wild-card team at the moment, meaning they are pencilled in for a potential playoff matchup against juggernaut teams like the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, or Carolina Hurricanes.

With the losses of Hagelin and Snively, the Capitals lose two wingers with clear roles on their NHL roster. Hagelin, 33, has been an important veteran bottom-sixer for the team since the 2018-19 season and has three goals and 14 points in 53 games so far this year. Hagelin is a veteran of 713 NHL games and coach Peter Laviolette is sure to miss his mature two-way play as the team battles for a higher seed down the stretch.

Joe Snively, on the other hand, has only 12 NHL games to his name, but is potentially a more disappointing loss for the Capitals. The former Yale Bulldog is a 26-year-old undrafted rookie who has had an impressive seven points in those 12 games at the NHL level, building off of his productive 35 game run this season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, where he has 15 goals and 38 points.

The Capitals have a deep team and have won their past two games in impressive fashion without either Snively or Hagelin. But despite that recent success, this is clearly a team that would prefer to have those two in the fold, and this update to their injury situations will come as a disappointment to the Capitals faithful.

AHL Shuffle: 03/06/22

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An intriguing Sunday of NHL hockey is already underway, including a Stanley Cup Final rematch that sees the Chicago Blackhawks host the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Seattle Kraken making their first trip to Carolina, and playoff implications already, as the Minnesota Wild, in third place in the Central Division with 67 points, host the Dallas Stars, who are holding onto the second Wild Card in the Western Conference with 65 points. Despite all the action, there are still plenty of transactions happening throughout the NHL and AHL today:

Metropolitan

Atlantic

  • To make room for today’s waiver claim in Olli Juolevi, the Detroit Red Wings have sent down center Joe Veleno to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Veleno, the 30th overall pick in the 2018 NHL draft, has been productive at the AHL level this season with 10 points in 11 games. At the NHL level, though, he has had to adapt to a different role, and has 10 points in 40 games for the big club.
  • The Florida Panthers have recalled goalie Spencer Knight to the NHL from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Knight, 20, is one of the top goalie prospects in hockey but has struggled so far this season with the Panthers, with a .898 save percentage in 18 starts. He has been better at the AHL level in Charlotte, though, with a .917 in 10 starts, and clearly his performance was enough to motivate the Panthers to bring him back up for another run as Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup.
  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled goalie Filip Gustavsson from the AHL’s Belleville Senators. Gustavsson has split time this season between Ottawa and Belleville. He has 13 NHL starts and a .896 save percentage in Ottawa, and 10 starts in Belleville where he has posted a .905 save percentage.

Pacific

  • The San Jose Sharks announced that they have placed goaltender James Reimer on IR. In a corresponding move, they have recalled defenseman Santeri Hatakka from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. Reimer had been having a solid season for the Sharks, posting a 2.84 goals against average and .916 over 34 games in net this season. Meanwhile, Hatakka will return to the NHL for the third time this season. The defenseman tallied just one assist in seven games for the Sharks this season, last playing November 18th against St. Louis. Hatakka was recalled for three days last week, but did not play. The 21-year-old has also suited up for 21 games for the Barracuda this season, recording one goal and three assists.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have announced that they have assigned winger Phillip Di Giuseppe to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. Di Giuseppe has yet to get into a game with the Canucks this season after an energetic 2020-2021 campaign with the New York Rangers. He has been a crucial player in Abbotsford, though, with 11 goals and 32 points in 35 games.
  • Edmonton Oilers interim head coach Jay Woodcroft has said, per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Athletic, that goalie Stuart Skinner will be recalled from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors because incumbent starter Mike Smith is dealing with an illness. Skinner, 23, has been a lonely bright spot in net for the Oilers this season, with a .913 save percentage in 13 games played. Skinner also owns a .919 save percentage at the AHL level.
  • The Anaheim Ducks announced that they have recalled goaltender Lukas Dostal from San Diego of the AHL.  The 21-year-old made his NHL debut back in January but has been in the minors for the last seven weeks and last week, had a 51-save performance while scoring his first career professional goal.  Dostal will take the place of John Gibson who is out of the lineup due to an upper-body injury.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights announced the recall of defenseman Daniil Miromanov from AHL Henderson.  The 24-year-old has been up and down several times this season and has seven NHL games under his belt where he has an assist in just over ten minutes of playing time per game.  Miromanov is in for Brayden McNabb who has been placed on injured reserve.

Central

Austin Czarnik, Olli Juolevi Claimed On Waivers

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Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, both players on waivers today were claimed. Austin Czarnik, who was placed on waivers by the Seattle Kraken, was claimed by the New York Islanders. After being placed on waivers by the Florida Panthers yesterday, Olli Juolevi will be headed to the Detroit Red Wings, having been claimed as well.

For Czarnik, this will mark his second stint with the Islanders organization, having only departed after being claimed on waivers by the Kraken back on February 8th. In his time with Seattle, Czarnik played in just six games, recording two assists. Prior to being placed on waivers by the Islanders, Czarnik had a fairly impressive two goals and three assists in 11 games for the Islanders, to go along with 15 points in 20 games with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders this season. Speaking of Bridgeport, the Islanders announced that Czarnik will be assigned to Bridgeport. The organization is able to assign Czarnik directly to the AHL without waivers, as they were the only team to put a claim in on the forward.

Juolevi will go to his third organization in two years after being traded by the Vancouver Canucks to Florida back in October. It has been a struggle for the once top prospect, bouncing between injured-reserve and the Panthers, playing in only 10 games, failing to record a point, and averaging just 12:27 time-on-ice. Perhaps a fresh start with a new organization more suited to give him extra minutes could be what Juolevi needs.

 

Minnesota Wild Activate Mathew Dumba

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2:27 pm: Per The Athletic’s Michael Russo, Mathew Dumba has officially been activated in advance of this afternoon’s game against the Dallas Stars. To make room, forward Jordan Greenway has been placed on injured-reserve retroactively (Tweet).

12:43 pm: The Minnesota Wild are expected to activate defenseman Dumba off of injured-reserve in time for today’s game against the Dallas Stars, reports The Athletic’s Michael Russo (tweet). Dumba last played for the Wild on February 12th before being placed on injured-reserve.

The defenseman has been a mainstay on the Minnesota blue-line for years and this year is no exception. Currently, he leads the Minnesota Wild in average time-on-ice at 23:37, along with four goals and 16 assists in 40 games this season. Even though the Wild have a strong defensive core, the loss of their leading defenseman has not been welcomed.

Dumba’s return could not come any sooner for the Wild, with the team struggling greatly as of late, going 3-7-0 in 10 games since the injury. The team also begins a stretch of four games in six days tonight at home against the Dallas Stars. Minnesota sits in third place in the Central Division, but is only two points ahead of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, which belongs to those Dallas Stars. Wild GM Bill Guerin has reiterated his confidence in the team heading into the trade deadline, and Dumba’s return to the lineup could play as an addition in itself, potentially sparking the team and getting it back on track.

Arizona Coyotes Extend Liam O’Brien

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The Arizona Coyotes announced that they have signed forward Liam O’Brien to a two-year contract extension (link). As per club policy, the terms of the contract have not been made available at this time. O’Brien had signed a one-year deal with the Coyotes back on July 28, 2021, and would have become a UFA after this season. PuckPedia reports that the contract will carry a cap hit of $775K.

O’Brien has been a bright spot for the Coyotes and their fans this year. While he has just two goals and one assist in 37 games for Arizona this season, he does lead the NHL in penalty minutes with 106 and is second on the team with 131 hits. Coyotes’ GM Bill Armstrong described O’Brien as a “hard-working player with great character who is always there to support his teammates.”

The O’Brien extension is the second handed out by the Coyotes this weekend, having extended forward Travis Boyd yesterday. While these players may not be the building blocks of the Coyotes rebuild, the club has made clear that they want to keep parts of their veteran core in place, presumably to help develop and move along the future young core of this team, especially as it transitions to its temporary home at Arizona State University. The extensions also represent a willingness of current Coyotes players who are comfortable signing on to continue their stay in Arizona despite the many changes ahead of them.

Snapshots: Capitals, Comtois, UFA Extension Discussions

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With the March 21st trade deadline approaching, and the Washington Capitals currently in the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, the organization is looking at different trade deadline scenarios. The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir shared his thoughts on the team’s deadline approach (subscription required). Perhaps most notably, the Capitals could look for an upgrade at the goaltender position, as the team is currently running a tandem of Vitek Vanecek and the struggling Ilya Samsonov. While Vanecek has impressed as of late, El-Bashir mentions the desire for the Capitals to add a veteran goaltender who would be a “significant or legitimate” upgrade over their current goaltenders.

Also mentioned was the Capitals’ possible desire to add a forward. While an addition such as Filip Forsberg or Claude Giroux has not been ruled out, it is unlikely. El-Bashir suggests Seattle forwards Calle Jarnkrok and Marcus Johansson as potential options for depth scoring. Both players are unrestricted free agents after this season, Jarnkrok carrying a $2MM cap hit and Johansson a $1.5MM cap hit. In addition to those two, the Capitals could also call on the Detroit Red Wings’ Vladislav Namestnikov, as well as New York Islanders’ forwards Cal Clutterbuck and Zach Parise. While none of these players would bring the excitement of a Giroux or a Forsberg, they can certainly provide the low-cost, depth scoring the Capitals need.

  • Last night on Hockey Night in Canada, SportsNet’s Jeff Marek added a new name to the list of trade deadline candidates: Max Comtois. The young forward has struggled to stay in the lineup this year, and has struggled when he is in the lineup.  Comtois has just six points in 31 games this season, missing time with a hand injury and COVID-19 earlier in the year, and has been scratched lately as well. It certainly has been a turn this year for Comtois, after leading the Ducks with 33 points in 55 games last season.
  • Also on Hockey Night in Canada yesterday, SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman touched on several notable pending UFAs, including Forsberg, Johnny Gaudreau, Tomas Hertl, and Hampus Lindholm. Friedman mentions that their teams are pushing hard to extend them prior to the trade deadline, and of course before the free agency period. While the Calgary Flames are quite unlikely to try and move Gaudreau, with the team poised to make a playoff run, rumors about Forsberg, Hertl and Lindholm continue to swirl, especially with San Jose and Anaheim on the outside of the playoff picture. Nashville on the other hand, is in a tricky position, as they currently sit in a playoff spot, but holding on to a major trade chip in Forsberg. Friedman also adds that while the contract talks have really heated up on Hertl and Lindholm, word around Forsberg and Gaudreau is notably quiet.

Injury Updates: Wood, Smith, Domingue, Kase

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Positive news on the New Jersey Devils injury front, as head coach Lindy Ruff said this morning that he hopes forward Miles Wood can return to the lineup sometime in the next seven to ten days (link). It has been a rough stretch for the Devils and for Wood, the Devils sitting in last place in the Metropolitan and Wood not having played a game yet this season due to injury. While Wood certainly won’t turn the season around in New Jersey, his grit and speed could certainly spark the team’s young core as they try to end the season on a positive note heading into 2022-23.

  • The Hurricanes could be close to getting defenseman Brendan Smith back in the lineup (link). Smith had not played since suffering an injury in a game against Pittsburgh on February 20th. Adding Smith back into the lineup would certainly be a welcomed defensive depth addition for the Hurricanes.
  • Goaltender Louis Domingue is back at practice for the Penguins today (link). Domingue has only played one game this season for Pittsburgh, a win on January 15th in San Jose, and has been working his way back from a foot injury. It still remains unclear what the timetable is for the goaltender.
  • Yesterday evening, the Toronto Maple Leafs placed forward Ondrej Kase on injured reserve. Kase has not played since Toronto’s 10-7 win over the Detroit Red Wings on February 26th. While Toronto has plenty of quality depth, losing Kase, who has 23 points in 44 games this season, is still a tough blow.

Montreal Canadiens Could Move Shea Weber’s Contract

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Earlier tonight on the 32 Thoughts segment of Hockey Night in Canada, Elliotte Friedman added another name to the list of potential Montreal Canadiens defensemen to be moved: Shea Weber (link). Friedman believes Montreal will look to move Weber’s contract to a team that either needs long-term injured reserve room or who needs to get to the cap floor and prefers not to spend much over the next few years.

The 36-year-old Weber has not played this year, having had his playing career likely come to an end due to injury. Weber last played in the Stanley Cup Finals for Montreal against the Tampa Bay Lightning last season before being placed on long-term injured reserve this season.

What is most notable about Weber’s situation is his remaining contract terms. While he has another four years left on his contract, carrying a $7.9MM cap hit each season, he is only owed $6MM total over those four years. In other words, a team that acquires Weber would only have to pay him $6MM, despite his contract having four years at $7.9MM each year. This would be an intriguing option for a team that is looking to take on cap for their own benefit or to alleviate another team’s salary cap concerns.

Montreal may not be inclined to move Weber, however, unless the terms were in its best interests. If the Canadiens are committed to a rebuild, then they might be the exact team that could benefit from having Weber’s contract on the books in the first place. Still, this idea has only thus far been reported and a market for Weber has yet to establish itself, and could carry on into the offseason potentially.

Latest On Philadelphia Flyers’ Trade Deadline Targets

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Earlier this evening on Hockey Night in Canada, Jeff Marek noted that several high-profile Philadelphia Flyers’ front office members, including Chuck Fletcher, Daniel Briere, Dean Lombardi, and Bill Barber had attended the Lehigh Valley Phantoms game against the Charlotte Checkers, the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers (link). Marek said:

We’ve talked before about how Claude Giroux may end up at the end of all of this, as a Florida Panther. Who are they there to see? We believe it is Owen Tippett, and we’ve talked before, Ron, about how Owen Tippett’s name is very much out there and how the Florida Panthers have let it be known that he could be available.

While Giroux to the Panthers has certainly been discussed before, and Tippett as a potential return is not news either, it is of note that a sizable contingent of the Flyers’ front office has gone to see Tippett play in person.

Tippett has been up and down for the Panthers this season, most recently having been sent down to Charlotte on February 22nd. While Tippett has not yet lived up to the potential the Panthers saw when they drafted him 10th overall in 2017, he has shown promise as of late. The 23-year-old winger has just 14 points in 42 games in the NHL this year, but he does have 10 points in eight games with Charlotte this season. Perhaps a change of scenery and an increased role with another team such as the Flyers could benefit Tippett and spark his development.

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