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Metropolitan Notes: Flyers, Merzlikins, McCarthy

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Philadelphia Flyers players met with the media today as they cleared out their lockers following a disappointing season. Giana Han of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Kevin Hayes described the season as a weird one, and he sure sounds like he expects it to be his last in Philly. The 31-year-old center has three years remaining on his contract with a cap hit just above $7MM per season, but he believes the organization turned the page on him midseason. Hayes was leading the team in scoring early in the year and was named to the All-Star Game. However, his role was reduced following his All-Star appearance as younger players were given bigger roles with the team struggling. Hayes mentioned he believes he will learn his fate around the NHL Draft, implying he thinks a trade could be on the horizon.

Also in Philly, Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic reports winger James van Riemsdyk was disappointed he did not get traded at the deadline, as he was left to play out the final year of his contract on a rebuilding Flyers roster. Then-General Manager Chuck Fletcher stated shortly after the trade deadline that there was no interest at all in JVR, but the Flyers skater seems to believe that is not entirely true and was frustrated that the team would not send him to a contending team, even for a small return in a trade.

  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports goaltender Elvis Merzlikins of the Columbus Blue Jackets will not play in the upcoming World Championships. This is of note since one of the host cities, Riga, Latvia is also the hometown of Merzlikins. The 29-year-old goaltender claims his focus remains completely on becoming a number one goaltender in the NHL, something he fell well short of this season. He posted a 4.23 GAA and a .876 SV% in 30 games for the Blue Jackets. That is a far cry from what his contract dictates he should be doing. Merzlikins has four more years remaining on a contract that carries a $5.4MM cap hit.
  • Mark Divver of NHL.com reports Boston University may be keeping one of its key defensemen for another season. Case McCarthy, a fourth-round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2019 has already played four seasons at BU but is leaning toward returning for one more. He played a top-four role this season, skating alongside freshman phenom Lane Hutson on most nights and providing a two-way role for BU. He had 15 points in 35 games and would step right back into that top pairing role with Hutson if he returns next season.

Capitals Notes: Oshie, Kuznetsov, Wilson

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The Washington Capitals cleaned out their lockers after a rare non-playoff season for the team. This is just the second time the Capitals have missed the playoffs since 2008. The Alex Ovechkin era in Washington has resulted in one Stanley Cup, but is it a rarity to see the team miss the playoffs altogether. Players were understandably frustrated when talking to the media while clearing out their belongings, but some are hopeful to return long-term while others have more questionable futures with the Capitals.

T.J. Oshie is one player that will surely be back. He has two more years remaining on his contract with a $5.75MM cap hit. The 36-year-old winger scored 19 goals and 35 points in 58 games this season but was shut down late in the year and has not played a game since March 30. He was listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury but provided more context today. According to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic, Oshie had a minor procedure on his back, but is feeling much better already and is looking forward to a regular summer of working out.

  • One player whose status is more in question moving forward is Evgeny Kuznetsov. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Kuznetsov has indeed changed agents and they will speak to the Capitals about the Russian’s future in Washington. There have been rumors circling around Kuznetsov’s availability for two years, but the Capitals are yet to move on from their 2010 first-round pick. The 30-year-old center has two years remaining on his contract with a $7.8MM cap hit, so finding the right cap fit on the trade market will be key if they do choose to go down that route.
  • Matt Weyrich of NBCS Washington reports one player who wants to remain a Capital for a long time is Tom Wilson. He is heading into the final year of his contract with a cap hit of $5.16MM but the gritty 29-year-old right winger said he does not want to play games in contract negotiations and he can’t imagine playing hockey for another team. He scored 13 goals and 22 points in 33 games this season after missing a significant amount of time with injury to begin the campaign. He is not eligible to sign an extension until July 1, but he is a name worth keeping an eye on to see if he extends as soon as possible.

PHR Playoff Primer: Los Angeles Kings vs Edmonton Oilers

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With the start of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs just a few days away, PHR makes its first foray into playoff series analysis with our 2023 Playoff Primers. Where does each team stand in their series, and what storylines could dominate on and off the ice? We continue our look with the Pacific Division matchup between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers.

A series that promises to be high scoring and hard fought will take place between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers in a rematch from a year ago. That series saw the Oilers take a lead with two blowout wins in Game 2 and 3 before falling behind 3-2 and then clawing back to win by allowing just two goals in the final two games. Connor McDavid carried the team to victory with 14 points in seven games and Mike Smith was great in goal with a .938 SV% in the series win.

The Kings were without Drew Doughty who was injured last season, but he is playing great hockey again with 52 points in 81 games this season. Adding Kevin Fiala to the lineup also gives the Kings a point-per-game player they did not have at their disposal a year ago. Doughty and Fiala give the Kings a big shot in the arm compared to a year ago, but the Oilers are playing some of the best hockey we have seen in Edmonton in decades.

Will it be the high-flying Oilers for a second consecutive season, or will the Kings exact some revenge from a first-round exit a year ago?

Regular Season Performance

Edmonton: 50-23-9, 109 points, +65 goal differential
Los Angeles: 47-25-10, 104 points, +23 goal differential

Head-To-Head

November 16, 2022: Los Angeles 3, Edmonton 1

January 9, 2023: Los Angeles 6, Edmonton 3

March 30, 2023:Edmonton 2, Los Angeles 0

April 4, 2023: Edmonton 3, Los Angeles 1

Season series tied 2-2-0

Team Storylines

The Oilers enter the postseason with Connor McDavid riding one of the greatest offensive seasons we have witnessed. Scoring 64 goals and 153 points is something we saw in the 1980’s but is simply unheard of in today’s NHL. McDavid became just the sixth player in league history to score 150 points and the first to do it since Mario Lemieux in 1996.

Though he is well ahead of anyone else in the league, he is not the only Oiler piling up points this season. Leon Draisaitl scored 52 goals and 128 points, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added 37 goals and 104 points and Zach Hyman was over a point-per-game with 36 goals and 83 points in 79 games. Evander Kane missed significant time this season, but scored 16 goals and 28 points in 41 games and was a playoff beast a year ago, leading the postseason in goals with 13, even though the Oilers were eliminated in four straight games in the Western Conference Final.

Scoring is not, and never really was, an issue for the Oilers. The questions marks existed elsewhere, but have the Oilers patched those holes? They added Mattias Ekholm at the trade deadline, and he has been the defensive rock that they needed all along. Since adding Ekholm, the Oilers finished the season on an 18-2-1 run to ensure home-ice advantage in this series. He has been averaging well over 20 minutes of ice time per game and immediately rejuvenated the Oilers top-four defense along with Darnell Nurse, Evan Bouchard and Cody Ceci.

Do the Oilers have what it takes in goal to win a series? They thought they would be leaning on Jack Campbell at this time of year after signing him to a five-year contract with a $5MM annual cap hit just last summer. However, he struggled in his first season with the Oilers, posting a 3.41 GAA and a .888 SV%. Stuart Skinner has really taken over the starter’s role in the last quarter of the season, posting a 2.43 GAA and a .920 SV% since March 1 and giving the Oilers a reliable goaltender to lean on late in the season.

Another key to focus on is, will the Kings be able to slow down the offensive beast that is the Edmonton Oilers? A quick glance at their numbers show the Kings were not able to slow anyone down this season. They allowed 257 goals this season. The only playoff teams to allow more were the Florida Panthers and Oilers. It sure promises to be a high scoring series. With Doughty playing this time around and Vladislav Gavrikov acquired at the trade deadline, the Kings have a better chance of at least slowing down McDavid and Draisaitl. No one can stop those two, but if they are held to 7-9 points each in a series, it would force the Oilers depth pieces to add some scoring, which they are not always capable of doing.

What about the Kings goaltending? They did trade for a goaltender at the trade deadline and Joonas Korpisalo has been great for them. He played just 11 games after being acquired, but he had a 2.13 GAA and a .921 SV% to give the Kings confidence in a position that was a weakness for most of the season. If Korpisalo can continue to play like that in the first round, the Kings will be in good shape. But it is difficult for anyone to put up a .920 SV% against these Oilers, who were the highest scoring team in the NHL with 325 goals.

Special teams are always a key component in a playoff series and this will be no exception. The Oilers power play alone is enough to give goaltenders nightmares as it clicked at a 32.4% efficiency rate, which is the best power play percentage in NHL history. The Kings had a bottom ten penalty kill at 75.8%. That is not something that can be fixed overnight and could prove to be a huge problem against a team like the Oilers.

On the other hand, the Oilers penalty kill was not much better, killing off 77% of their penalties while the Kings power play converted on an impressive 25.3% of their chances. Staying out of the box is going to be key as neither team is strong while shorthanded, and both have the ability to do damage on the man advantage.

Prediction

The Kings have new pieces in place that should allow them to be more competitive this time around. Having Gavrikov and Doughty on defense, Korpisalo in goal as well as Phillip Danault who is one of the best shutdown centers in the league, should at least slow down McDavid a little bit. He is going to score on the power play, but if they can limit him at even strength, they will force the depth of the Oilers to step up, and they don’t have a lot of scoring behind their top four forwards. There won’t be two huge blowouts early in the series this time around.

The problem for the Kings is, the Oilers have addressed similar needs and now have Ekhlom as a defensive horse on the blue line and they are playing the best hockey we have seen out of any team in the past six weeks. McDavid and Draisaitl each averaged two points per game in the playoffs last spring, and both were somehow even better this season than ever before. Yes, they could use some depth scoring, but Mattias Janmark, Warren Foegele, Klim Kostin, Nick Bjugstad and Ryan McLeod give them reliable minutes even if they don’t score a ton. That can be left to the top two lines.

Yet another magical spring from McDavid and Draisaitl is about to begin, and they won’t be denied in round one. It will not be an easy one by any stretch, but the Kings offense just can’t match the Oilers scoring. Prediction: The Oilers win in six games.

Snapshots: Trade Condition Updates, Andersson, Tkachev

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The regular season is nearing its end and the Stanley Cup Playoffs are just around the corner. It is the most exciting time of year to be a hockey fan. While it is a quiet period in the hockey calendar for trades, there have been a handful of updates on trade conditions from previous deals that have been made. First of all, capfriendly.com confirmed the Chicago Blackhawks will be receiving the Tampa Bay Lightning’s first-round pick in the upcoming NHL Draft. This was part of the Brandon Hagel trade from a year ago. The condition on the deal was that it was a top-ten protected pick, but with the Lightning qualifying for the playoffs, the pick will be outside the top 16 and therefore transferred to the Blackhawks.

The San Jose Sharks will also officially receive the New Jersey Devils first-round pick in 2023 according to capfriendly.com. This was a part of the Timo Meier deal that saw a total of 13 pieces involved. One component was a conditional first-round pick that would top-two protected. Essentially, the Devils would have needed to completely fall apart in the second half, win the draft lottery and end up with a top-two pick in order to keep it. They of course did not, and will host a first round series next week, so their first-round pick will go to the Sharks.

The Arizona Coyotes will receive yet another second-round pick as well. Again, capfriendly.com points out that conditions in the Jakob Chychrun trade dictated the 2024 second-round pick that was included as part of the deal would move up to a first-round pick if the Ottawa Senators made it to the Eastern Conference final this season. The Senators did not make the playoffs, so their second-round pick goes to the Coyotes who now have ten second round picks in the next three drafts.

  • Donna Spencer of The Canadian Press reports Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson does not require surgery in the offseason, but has been dealing with pain since a scooter accident in Detroit on February 8. The 26-year-old was riding a scooter to dinner that night when he was struck by a vehicle in a crosswalk. He went to hospital for observation but was released and he missed three games before returning to the lineup on February 16. He quickly returned to his role as a top-pairing defenseman, but did struggle down the stretch, scoring just one point in his final ten games.
  • Agent Shumi Babaev tweeted that his client, Vladimir Tkachev is not happy with Avangard Omsk’s latest offer to return to the KHL, so he will look to return to the NHL next season instead. Tkachev played his Junior hockey in the QMHL with the Moncton Wildcats and Quebec Remparts and played the 2021-22 season with the Los Angeles Kings and Ontario Reign of the AHL. He played four NHL games, scoring two points and had 29 points in 41 AHL games that season. He returned to the KHL for the 2022-23 season and scored 23 goals and 59 points in 64 games, leading Omsk and finishing second overall in the KHL. The 27-year-old is a skilled winger and will now look to sign with an NHL team this summer.

Anaheim Ducks Reassign Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Drew Helleson

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The Anaheim Ducks have wrapped up their season, but their AHL affiliate isn’t done quite yet. The San Diego Gulls are receiving some reinforcement from the parent club late in the season. Per a team release, both Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Drew Helleson have been sent down to the Gulls. Unfortunately, not only have the Ducks finished last in the NHL standings, but the Gulls sit at the bottom of the AHL standings as well. They do have two games remaining against the Colorado Eagles this weekend before closing out their regular season schedule.

Groulx was a second-round pick of the Ducks back in 2018. The 23-year-old forward has played most of the past three seasons in the AHL, though he now has 20 NHL games under his belt as well. He has scored one goal and three points with the Ducks, and sits second in points on the Gulls roster this season. His 18 goals and 39 points in 61 games are decent production, but the fact he is second on the team in scoring with those numbers shows why the Gulls are sitting in the cellar of the AHL.

Helleson is a promising defenseman who was a second-round pick of the Ducks in 2019. He turned pro just over a year ago after a stellar NCAA career at Boston College. He is still learning the ropes of the pro game, but has shown he could become a dependable right-shot two-way defender for the Ducks down the road. He scored five goals and 18 points in 63 games for the Gulls this season, and suited up for three NHL games in the past week, scoring his first NHL goal against the Vancouver Canucks while averaging 13:39 per game.

Both players were called up in the past week as a late-season audition which is a good sign that the team thinks they could contribute at the NHL level in 2023-24. The Ducks remain in transition as they try to build a contending team for the future and Groulx and Helleson should get longer looks next season to see if they are capable of being NHL regulars.

College Signing Notes: Farinacci, Lipkin, Johnson

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Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports Arizona Coyotes draft pick John Farinacci is unlikely to sign with the team that drafted him. Farinacci is a 22-year-old forward who just finished his senior season with Harvard, scoring five goals and 20 points in 19 games. The Coyotes selected the 6-foot and 185 pound center in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He has since played three seasons at Harvard, with one year being wiped out due to Covid restrictions, and he scored 61 points in 79 career college games. With his NCAA career over, Farinacci is eligible to become an NHL free agent on August 15 if he is not signed by the Coyotes and it sounds like he will choose that route.

  • On the other hand, Morgan also reports that the Coyotes are interested in getting a deal done with Sam Lipkin. Lipkin was a seventh-round draft pick of the Coyotes in the 2021 NHL Draft. The 20-year-old forward just finished his first college season, helping Quinnipiac win a national championship by scoring 14 goals and 43 points in 39 games. Lipkin, a skilled 6-foot-3 and 192 pound center has proven to be worthy of more than a seventh-round pick and would be a big addition to the Coyotes prospect pool if they can get a deal done.
  • Another possible college signing to keep an eye on is Ryan Johnson. Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports that the Buffalo Sabres and Johnson had a zoom meeting and though things went well during the meeting, nothing official was put in place. Johnson has been a great two-way defender for Minnesota for the past four seasons, putting up four goals and 18 points in 40 games this season while playing a shutdown style and penalty killing role for a defensively sound squad. Johnson was the Sabres first-round pick in 2019 and would be another terrific young player on the Sabres squad if they are able to get a deal done. If not, Johnson has the option to become a free agent in August.

Snapshots: Wright, DeBrincat, Gustafsson

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Shane Wright’s whirlwind season continues today as the Seattle Kraken announced he would be reporting to the AHL. Wright was the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and started the season in the NHL with the Kraken but was a frequent healthy scratch. He played just eight NHL games, scoring one goal and two points and was sent to the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds for a conditioning stint where he scored four goals in five games.

Wright was also loaned to Team Canada for the World Juniors and helped them win a gold medal by scoring seven points in seven games and serving as the team’s captain. He then returned to the OHL where he was traded by the Kingston Frontenacs to the Windsor Spitfires and proceeded to put up 15 goals and 37 points in 20 Junior games. Wright’s Spitfires were the top ranked team in the OHL’s Western Conference but were shockingly swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Kitchener Rangers.

Now that Wright’s Junior season is complete, he is eligible to play pro in either the NHL or AHL and the Kraken have chosen to assign him back to the Firebirds who are on the verge of their own postseason. They are in second place in the entire AHL and have just three regular season games remaining before the playoffs begin. It will be interesting to see how well Wright performs in the AHL playoffs after scoring one goal and three points in his four OHL postseason contests.

  • The Ottawa Senators are going to do everything they can to keep Alex DeBrincat next season. According to Bruce Garrioch of TSN, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion has said he will extend a qualifying offer to DeBrincat if there is not a long-term deal already in place this offseason. The 25-year-old winger has scored 27 goals and 66 points in 80 games during his first season with the Senators. Though his cap hit is $6.4MM, he is making $9MM this season so a qualifying offer would be a one-year extension for the 2023-24 season matching this year’s salary of $9MM.
  • Erik Gustafsson was prepared to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight but left during warmup and was ruled out of the game. The Maple Leafs released a statement saying Gustafsson would not play due to an upper-body injury. Luke Schenn took his place in the lineup on short notice. Gustafsson has played nine games with the Maple Leafs since being acquired at the trade deadline, and has four points, including a three point night against the Montreal Canadiens in his last outing.

Vegas Golden Knights Sign Jesper Vikman

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The Vegas Golden Knights are on the verge of possibly clinching first place in the Pacific Division as well as the Western Conference this week, but they have taken care of some off-ice business today as well. Per a team statement, the Golden Knights have signed prospect Jesper Vikman to a contract.

Vikman is a 21-year-old goaltender who just wrapped up his Junior career with the Vancouver Giants. He put up a 3.29 GAA and a .903 SV% in 45 games for a non-contending Giants squad. The Swedish goaltender was drafted in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Golden Knights and played one final season in Sweden before joining the Giants. He was called up to play five games in the SHL that season, getting some pro experience as a teenager in a difficult league.

There is a path to some pro playing time for Vikman next season. Logan Thompson has been solid for the Golden Knights each of the past two seasons, but Jonathan Quick, Adin Hill and Laurent Brossoit are all unrestricted free agents this summer and the organization is going to need some depth at the position. Robin Lehner is signed as well but missed the entire season with injury so his status will be in question entering next season as well.

Vikman is now eligible to join the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL where Jiri Patera is the starting goalie. Patera has posted a 2.93 GAA and a .908 SV% and the Silver Knights have just three games remaining in the season before they are done. They sit 9th in the Pacific Division and will not make the Calder Cup Playoffs this season.

Vikman is on a tryout agreement with the Silver Knights for the rest of this season, and his three year entry-level contract will begin in 2023-24.

Seattle Kraken Sign David Goyette

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The Seattle Kraken announced per a team release that they have signed prospect David Goyette to an entry-level contract. Goyette was a second-round pick of the Kraken in the 2022 NHL Draft after scoring 33 goals and 73 points in 66 OHL games with the Sudbury Wolves in the 2021-22 season. That gave him the most goals and points by any rookie in the OHL that season.

Goyette is not a big player at 5-foot-11 and 174 pounds, but he is highly skilled. He piled up 41 goals and 51 assists for 92 points in 63 games with the Wolves this season. The Saint-Jerome, Quebec native also had four points in four playoff games for the Wolves who were quickly swept in their first round series with the Peterborough Petes.

Goyette just turned 19 last month so he will likely return to the Wolves next season for his 19-year-old Junior season. In the meantime, he is eligible to play for either the Kraken or the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds which is the most likely scenario at this point. The Firebirds have three games remaining in the regular season before the Calder Cup Playoffs begin.

St. Louis Blues Recall Three Players

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The St. Louis Blues are down to their final two games of the season, and will not be making the playoffs this year. They don’t play again until Wednesday and close out their season with games on consecutive nights against the Dallas Stars. According to Lou Korac of NHL.com, it appears they will be adding some reinforcements to the lineup to give a trio of prospects a taste of NHL action before the season comes to a close. The Blues have announced Joel Hofer, Tyler Tucker and Hugh McGing have all been called up from the Springfield Thunderbirds.

  • Hofer is a 22-year-old goaltender who was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He has had a solid season with the Thunderbirds, posting a 2.57 GAA to go with a .918 SV% and a 25-15-5 record in 45 contests. He has also played five NHL games this season where he put up a 2.79 GAA and a .915 SV%, showing some promise in limited duty. The Blues need to find a solution in goal with Jordan Binnington signed long term but struggling and Thomas Greiss a pending unrestricted free agent this summer. Hofer has played well enough this season to show he could be the goaltender of the future in St. Louis.
  • Tucker was a seventh-round pick of the Blues in 2018 and has split this season between St. Louis and Springfield. The 6-foot-1 and 204 pound defenseman has put up three goals and 21 points in 39 AHL games while playing a steady defensive game as well. He has been called up already this season, compiling 24 NHL games and scoring one goal and four points. The 23 year old will look to show he can compete for a roster spot next season, even though the Blues have seven NHL defenders signed through 2023-24.
  • McGing was a fifth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and is yet to make his NHL debut. The 24-year-old forward is in his third AHL season and has scored 15 goals and 35 points in 68 games for the Thunderbirds. He may get a chance to play in his first NHL game with the Blues playing out the string later this week.

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