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Update On Chicago Blackhawks Goaltending

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Now that the draft lottery gave the Chicago Blackhawks some clarity on their draft pick situation, Chicago’s front office’s focus can now shift to their offseason plans more earnestly. With new GM Kyle Davidson set to pursue a full rebuild of the team, there are many items on his offseason to-do list that he’ll need to consider. Perhaps the most immediately pressing on-ice issue is the situation of the team’s goaltending.

The Blackhawks were not a strong team this season, and the performances of their goalies reflected that, especially after the mid-season trade of Marc-Andre Fleury. The Blackhawks used four goalies this season, and Fleury’s .908 save percentage in 45 games made him the only member of the four-person group to post above a .900 mark. Kevin Lankinen regressed from his strong rookie-season form and turned in an .891 save percentage, 3.50 goals-against-average performance in 32 games of work. That regression left question marks about his future in Chicago. Lankinen is a pending unrestricted free agent, and Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription link) reported that a source said that Lankinen and the Blackhawks “have not begun negotiations” on a potential contract extension.

With that report in mind, an important question is brought up: If Davidson views next season as one where player development is prioritized over winning as many games as possible, (and that certainly seems to be the case) is trusting Lankinen the best route to take? The Blackhawks are a team looking to get younger and develop their young players. Maintaining young players’ confidence levels is an important aspect of player development, and there are few things that can damage a young team’s confidence in a single game more than unreliable goaltending, especially for young defensemen.

When asked about the team’s goaltending situation, Davidson seemed to acknowledge that looking to bring in outside help might be the best option for his team to weather what most expect to be a difficult 2022-23 season. Davidson said:

We definitely need to bring some NHL contracts in. Kevin and Collin are part of that discussion, they’re not out of that candidate list, but there’s some players that we’ll look at in free agency and see which direction we want to go, not ruling out the trade market either.

This summer’s crop of free-agent goaltenders holds some promise for the team, but their direction as an openly rebuilding club could stand in the way of any major acquisitions. Headliners Darcy Kuemper and Jack Campbell seem unlikely for that reason, and a reunion with Fleury is also highly unlikely. Perhaps Davidson could go in a direction similar to Detroit GM Steve Yzerman last summer, when Yzerman pounced on the opportunity to acquire a young goalie coming off of a breakout season, landing 2021 Calder Finalist Alex Nedeljkovic from the Hurricanes. There are some intriguing breakout names on the market for Davidson to pursue, such as St. Louis’ Ville Husso and Dallas’ Scott Wedgewood.

Regardless of whatever direction they choose to go in net, it’s clear that the Blackhawks are unsettled at the game’s most important position. Given all of the factors that go into choosing a goaltender, though, it’s likely that Davidson’s choice of netminder will help clarify exactly what his front office’s intentions are for the near future of this team.

Pictures courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Filip Forsberg

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It was another disappointing exit for Filip Forsberg and the Nashville Predators, losing in the first round for the fourth season in a row. The 27-year-old is now facing a career-defining decision as his offseason begins and free agency approaches. Forsberg will be an unrestricted free agent in July after spending his entire NHL career to this point in a Predators jersey, and didn’t give up much when he spoke to reporters yesterday about the situation:

I’ve said that since day one, the goal is to come back here. And the business side is completely different than the on-ice side, as you guys are aware of, and just kind of have to wait and see and play it out. There has been obviously some progression throughout the season from where we started in September, and me and my agent and David and Brian and the management. There’s going to be an ongoing conversation in the process, and we’ll just have to see where we end up.

You couldn’t script a better regular season to be negotiating on the back of, as Forsberg set career highs with 42 goals and 84 points, all in just 69 games. With so much of his production coming at even-strength (32 goals), there’s likely no limit to the number of teams that could insert him into a lineup and receive a huge offensive boost. With the Predators out, the countdown is on until Forsberg and his representatives get a chance to talk with the rest of the league.

After a decade in Nashville, Forsberg has always maintained that his desire is to stay with the organization that traded for him all those years ago but there have been at least some signs to point to the possibility of him leaving. Namely, the organization quickly worked out multi-year extensions with Mattias Ekholm, Mikael Granlund, and Juuse Saros last summer, deals that eat up quite a bit of cap space moving forward. With Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen, and Roman Josi also on the books for a combined $25MM per season, it’s not like there is a ton of room to fit in another huge contract.

Still, it’s hard to imagine the Predators offensive attack without Forsberg in the middle of it. He became the franchise leader in goals this season, passing David Legwand in 400 fewer games, and he sits 14th in the entire league since his rookie season. That history–especially buoyed by his exceptional 2021-22 campaign–is going to make Forsberg able to demand a substantial raise on the $6MM he has earned in each of the last six years, and a long-term deal to go with it.

Another thing to remember, and something that potentially could affect negotiations, is general manager David Poile’s aversion to giving out no-trade clauses. The only player on the Nashville roster that holds one is captain Roman Josi, and Forsberg has seen the lack of trade protection play out in recent years with the departures of Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Ellis. There’s almost no doubt that he could secure a full no-movement clause elsewhere if he decides to test the market later this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Radim Zohorna

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With Sidney Crosby’s uncertain status for tomorrow night, the Pittsburgh Penguins have made an addition to the roster. Radim Zohorna has been recalled from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, despite the AHL club having their own postseason match this evening.

Zohorna, 26, is not exactly a prospect, even though he has just 25 games of NHL experience to this point. The long-time Czech league player came to the Pittsburgh organization in 2020-21 and has done nothing but produce at whatever level he’s asked to play. In the NHL this season, he had six points in 17 games, while racking up 23 hits with his 6’6″ frame in just over ten minutes of ice time per night. In the minors, those numbers increased to 12 goals and 21 points in 39 games, before really making an impact for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the postseason.

Through four games in the Calder Cup playoffs, Zohorna already has five points, recording at least one in all three first-round games against the Hershey Bears. As an injury replacement, if he does enter the lineup, you could certainly do worse than the intimidating, versatile forward, even though filling Crosby’s skates is obviously an impossible task if he is indeed held out.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Cam Talbot Expected To Start For Minnesota Wild

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The Minnesota Wild, with their backs against the wall in the first round, appear to have decided to go back to the goaltender that led them through most of the season. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Cam Talbot was working in the starter’s net at morning skate and left the ice first, suggesting he’ll be in tonight when they take on the St. Louis Blues in game six of their first-round series.

The decision to move from Marc-Andre Fleury from Talbot comes after the former allowed four goals in each of the last two games, both 5-2 wins for the Blues to take the series lead. Talbot, 34, will regain his position as the starter, a spot he held for most of the year until the Wild acquired Fleury at the trade deadline. In 49 appearances this season, Talbot went 32-12-4 with a .911 save percentage.

It’s that trade, and a related one that moved regular backup Kaapo Kahkonen out, that will cause plenty of criticism if Minnesota ends up getting knocked out in the first round. The team sent a conditional second-round draft choice to the Chicago Blackhawks for the reigning Vezina winner, one that only upgrades to a first if the team reaches the third round with Fleury with at least four wins in the first two.

Perhaps more important was the trade that saw Kahkonen–no longer needed with Fleury in the picture–go to the San Jose Sharks along with a fifth-round pick for defenseman Jacob Middleton. While Middleton has been a nice fit, Kahkonen once again showed down the stretch that he is a capable NHL netminder, posting a .916 save percentage in 11 appearances with the Sharks. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer that’s due a hefty raise, and while that’s not something the Wild might have been able to afford anyway because of their tricky cap situation, there’s now plenty of uncertainty in the team’s crease moving forward.

Talbot is signed for one more year but Fleury is an unrestricted free agent and will turn 38 in November. The team does have 19-year-old Jesper Wallstedt on their reserve list (he has yet to sign his entry-level contract), expecting him to step directly into the spotlight in a year’s time is optimistic, if not foolish.

At any rate, the focus will be on this evening, when the Wild try to keep their season alive with Talbot in the crease. In his 32 career playoff appearances, he has a .923 save percentage.

Snapshots: Switzerland, Trouba, Lindholm

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The IIHF World Championship will start tomorrow and there are NHL players littered across all of the rosters. One of the most interesting rosters is the one that Switzerland has managed to put together, with names like Timo Meier and Nico Hischier leading the way. Unfortunately for the Swiss, they’ll be without their best option despite him already being eliminated from the NHL playoffs. Roman Josi has turned down the invitation, citing his pregnant wife whom he will be staying with for the next little while.

Josi’s 96-point year was the best season of all time from a Swiss-born player, though Kevin Fiala and Meier both would have also set that record this season had the others not existed (with Hischier not far behind). Fiala is obviously also not on the roster as he continues to battle for the Minnesota Wild, but the success of these players only suggests that Swiss hockey will continue to grow and make an even bigger impact on the NHL in the coming years.

  • There is no supplementary discipline expected for New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba’s hit on Sidney Crosby last night, according to several reports including Larry Brooks of the New York Post. Crosby is being evaluated for an upper-body injury after missing the second half of the game, while Trouba will try to help even the series tomorrow night in Pittsburgh after scoring and recording two points yesterday.
  • Speaking of defensemen trying to help even a series, Hampus Lindholm will return for the Boston Bruins in game six tonight after missing the last few with an upper-body injury. Lindholm was injured on a hit from Andrei Svechnikov and held out, but told reporters today that he started to feel better quickly afterward and is now ready to go. The trade deadline acquisition is expected to return to the top pairing with Charlie McAvoy and play a ton as the Bruins fight for their season.

2022 Hart Trophy Finalists Announced

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It’s time for the big one. The NHL has announced the finalists for the Hart Trophy, given annually to the “player judged most valuable to his team.” Last year’s award went to Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, his second win after taking it home in 2017 as well.

This year’s finalists are McDavid, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers.

There’s not much to be said about the Oilers captain that hasn’t already been mentioned a million times. One of the most dynamic offensive players to ever grace the NHL, he reached new highs in goals and points this year with 44 and 123. It was the fourth time he has led the league in points, and this will be the fourth time he is a Hart finalist. With 697 points in his career already, he sits fourth in points/game among those who have played at least 450. Only Wayne Gretzky (1.92), Mario Lemieux (1.88), and the late Mike Bossy (1.50) sit ahead of McDavid’s 1.43 mark, an incredible accomplishment in this era.

Matthews, meanwhile, is a finalist for the second time after being the runner-up last season. Now the two-time Rocket Richard winner, the Maple Leafs forward is the best goal scorer in the league and reached a mark very rarely seen in today’s game. His 60 goals were the most since Steven Stamkos hit the same mark in 2011-12, and he became only the third player in the salary cap era to reach the mark (Alex Ovechkin has the top spot with 65 in 2007-08). More than just his goals though, it was Matthews’ overall production that skyrocketed this season, with the big center hitting 106 points in just 73 games.

Shesterkin is a first-time finalist, but if he continues to play at the level he established this season this certainly won’t be the last time he’s up for major awards. The 26-year-old netminder posted a .935 save percentage in 53 appearances and is the front-runner for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best netminder. Moreover, the Rangers were routinely critiqued for their defensive zone breakdowns this season as a young team, breakdowns that Shesterkin regularly rescued them from with incredible saves. The Hart hasn’t been won by a goaltender since Carey Price in 2015, when he nearly swept the field, taking home the Jennings, Vezina, and Lindsay as well. Price’s save percentage that season was actually .933, just a few points below what Shesterkin did this year.

New Jersey Devils Sign Topias Vilen

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The New Jersey Devils have inked another interesting prospect, signing Topias Vilen to a three-year entry-level contract. Vilen spent this season playing at the highest level in Finland, after being drafted last year.

The youngest player on the Pelicans this season, Vilen recorded six points in 50 games. The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the Devils in 2021 and is known almost exclusively for his defensive game. Even at the junior level the young defenseman barely registered any offense, meaning it will be a long difficult road if he’s ever going to make the NHL.

Still, there are signs at least that he might be able to carve out a niche as a bottom-pairing, penalty-killing option. For one, his work ethic has never been questioned as he battles constantly in his own end, and his size–6’1″ 195lbs–at least gives him an advantage over the undersized offensive players he’ll be battling in the minor leagues.

Given that he has only just turned 19, the young defenseman will be eligible to play for Finland at both this summer’s and next winter’s World Juniors, if selected. He previously represented his country at the U17 and U18 level, even wearing an “A” as an alternate captain during last year’s event in Texas, where the Finns finished fourth.

Morning Notes: Team Canada, Crosby, Bokk

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The Canadian contingent for the IIHF World Championship has named their leadership group, with Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot given the captaincy. The team will go with a group of alternates including Josh Anderson, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Adam Lowry, and Damon Severson for the event, likely rotating each game.

The tournament, which starts tomorrow, is a nice way for Chabot to get some more on-ice reps after missing a huge chunk of this season, though with the amount he plays it has already been a long year. In 59 games this season, the Senators’ defenseman scored 38 points and averaged more than 26 minutes a night for the third season in a row.

  • There’s no update yet on Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, as head coach Mike Sullivan only confirmed that his captain is dealing with an upper-body injury and will be evaluated further on their return home. Crosby took a hit from Jacob Trouba in last night’s game that kept him out, and obviously has a long history with head injuries. The Penguins stayed in New York after last night’s loss and will fly to Pittsburgh today to prepare for tomorrow’s game six.
  • After spending half of this season playing back home in Germany, Dominik Bokk is coming back to North America. His club team announced today that Bokk will re-join the Carolina Hurricanes organization for the 2022-23 season, a previously agreed upon decision. After playing 32 games in the AHL this year, Bokk was loaned to Eisbaren Berlin in the DEL for the stretch run, where he scored 11 points in 14 games and another three in 12 playoff contests. The first-round pick originally selected by St. Louis in 2018 has one year left on his entry-level deal.

Dmitrij Jaskin Receiving KHL Interest

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After two very strong seasons with Dynamo Moscow in the KHL, winger Dmitrij Jaskin decided to give the NHL another shot in 2021-22 as he inked a one-year deal with Arizona worth $3.2MM, a surprisingly high sum given his performance in his first NHL stint.  Unfortunately, things didn’t go too well and his agent Gleb Chistyakov told Sport-Express in Russia that four KHL teams are showing interest in bringing the pending unrestricted free agent back to Russia.

The 29-year-old got off to a slow start this season with the Coyotes, notching just a single assist in 12 games despite averaging nearly 15 minutes a night.  That’s a far cry from being better than a point-per-game player as he was in his two seasons overseas when he finished second and fourth in league scoring.  Unfortunately for him and Arizona, Jaskin then suffered a season-ending injury in a knee-on-knee collision with Nashville’s Mark Borowiecki in a game in mid-November.

As a result of his early struggles, the injury, and his limited production in his first NHL stint between St. Louis and Washington, it’s hard to envision Jaskin receiving NHL offers that are anywhere close to what he received from the Coyotes this season.  As a result, a return to the KHL where he’d command a top salary makes a lot of sense for him even though it will probably close the door on his NHL career in the process.

Offseason Checklist: Seattle Kraken

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The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t playoff-bound.  It’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Seattle.

After the Golden Knights went to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, expectations were unrealistically high for the Kraken heading into their first year.  But even if they had the expectations of a typical expansion franchise, they still would have underachieved relative to those.  As a result, Seattle finds itself trying to build on multiple fronts this summer which is a certainly a tall task.

Find A New Goalie Coach

There was only one coaching casualty from their tough year and that was goalie coach Andrew Allen.  That move was understandable as, heading into the season, goaltending was believed to be their best strength with a tandem of Philipp Grubauer and Chris Driedger.  Instead, they had the lowest team save percentage in the NHL (.880) while sitting in the bottom ten in goals allowed despite allowing the fourth-fewest shots on goal.  Seattle will need to find a replacement coach and when it comes to their netminders, things can only go up from here.

Expand Young Core

Part of building an organization from scratch is trying to pick up some young core pieces.  They got one in the draft in Matthew Beniers and picked one in expansion in Jared McCann with the 25-year-old having a career year and quickly inking a long-term extension.  Beyond that, there isn’t that much of a young core.  That’s perfectly understandable after just one year of existence but this will be the top priority for GM Ron Francis this summer.

They’ll be able to add some key pieces at the draft.  They have the fourth pick in July’s draft plus four second-rounders that can be dangled in an effort to move up.  That should yield some nice long-term additions although most of those players will be several years away.

Back when the team was being assembled, cap flexibility was stated as a critical element of what they were doing.  This is something that the Kraken can use to their advantage this summer if they’re willing to take a bad contract or two while adding some more picks (or preferably prospects) like Arizona did last summer.  If the aim is to build a long-term contender, Seattle needs to have more than two long-term core pieces heading into next season.

Expand Current Core

Most general managers don’t lay out a road map for their planning but at his end-of-season news conference, Francis indicated a desire to add a top-six forward, a top-nine forward, and a puck-moving defenseman to his current group.  The forwards, in particular, could be added in free agency where the Kraken will have the ability to outbid most teams as they have nearly $23MM in cap room, per CapFriendly.  The UFA market for puck-moving blueliners isn’t as deep so going that route for that spot may be tougher so the trade front might be the better way for them there.

Last summer, Francis surprisingly handed a five-year contract to Jaden Schwartz in a move that didn’t work out too well with the oft-injured 29-year-old missing more than half of the season due to injuries.  That should serve as a cautionary tale for their free agent this time around when it comes to adding secondary scorers.

It wouldn’t be advisable to hand out similar long-term deals at this time to fill those roster spots.  Anything beyond a medium-term contract carries some risk of being a burden at the time that their young core will be ready to really try to contend.  A five-year deal for a 25-year-old (McCann) makes sense as he’ll still be young enough to be part of their plans and productive at the end of it.  A five-year deal for a 29-year-old UFA this summer probably won’t hold up as well.  They’d be wise to stick with shorter-term contracts that will be easier to move closer to their expiration.

Of course, that caveat doesn’t apply if they happen to entice one of the top free agents to join them.  In that case, you don’t say no to top talent and that player becomes a part of their current and future core.  But beyond that, playing it safe with the veterans they choose to add should be the path they choose to take.

Fill Out Farm Team

This season, Seattle didn’t have its own AHL affiliate which isn’t particularly unusual for an expansion franchise as they simply don’t have the organizational depth that more established teams do.  Instead, they teamed up with the Hurricanes, sharing their affiliate in Charlotte.  That allowed the Kraken to carry a pretty short group of contracts with only a handful of recallable players from the Checkers as the season went on.

That won’t be the case next season as Seattle will be operating the Coachella Valley Firebirds.  They certainly have plenty of work to do before the puck drops on their inaugural season in October.

At the moment, Seattle has basically the equivalent of one line signed for the Firebirds for next season (with three of those being on future deals that only start in 2022-23).  They also have goaltender Joey Daccord if they can get him through waivers in training camp.  In terms of on-ice personnel, that’s it.  Aside from those few players signed, they basically have to fill an entire team.  As a result, expect them to be very active in minor league free agency, both in terms of signing AHL free agents to AHL deals at the beginning of July and in handing out several NHL two-way deals when that market opens up near mid-July.

On top of that, they’ll need to round out their front office and coaching staff.  The Kraken added former NHL bench boss Dan Bylsma as an assistant with Charlotte and he’s a contender to be the coach in Palm Springs next season.  Francis will be building on multiple fronts this summer so expect a busy summer in Seattle.

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