Pacific Notes: Oilers Defense, Hertl, Desjardins
The Edmonton Oilers haven’t had much success when it comes to trades in recent years, but the team may be able to plug some of their offensive woes with a trade. The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell (subscription required) writes that the Oilers are actually overloaded in left-handed defensive depth throughout their system and might be able to use that depth as a way to send off for some veteran help at the wing that might allow the team to give extra development time to Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto, who both were sent down to Bakersfield this afternoon.
Mitchell writes the team is loaded on the left side with two top-four players, including Oscar Klefbom and Darnell Nurse and still have Kris Russell who is playing on the right side. After that, the team has Ethan Bear as well as a host of left-handed defensemen in Bakersfield, including Caleb Jones, Ryan Stanton, William Lagesson, Keegan Lowe and Kevin Gravel. That’s a lot of options for a team, should they consider moving someone like Russell, Lagesson or Jones to add some depth at some point this winter.
- Curtis Palshenka of the Mercury News reports that San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl, who has missed the last three game with a head injury, is starting to feel better and may be able to return Sunday for their game against the Calgary Flames. He still needs to go through more testing, but remains positive. Hertl has been a key piece to the Sharks’ first line, including Logan Couture and Timo Meier. The 24-year-old is producing a point a game so far this year with five goals and nine assists in 14 games.
- One change the new Los Angeles Kings head coach Willie Desjardins intends to implement is to cut down shift times. Helene Elliot of the Los Angeles Times writes that the coach intends to cut all shifts by 10 seconds, so that lines are only on the ice for a little over 40 seconds. “If you look at teams’ regular-season shifts and then look at their playoff shifts, their playoff shifts are always shorter,” he said, “and that’s because the intensity of the game goes up. And I think we have to bring our playoff game right now. I think we have to get our shifts shorter and I think that’s something our guys have to buy into, to be successful.” Desjardins also adds that he wants to cut down the ATOI of both Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, who both lead the team in ice time at their respective positions.
2006 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Sixth Overall Pick
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
Our look back at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft is now in full swing as we poll the PHR community to see who would have been selected in the first round and in what order knowing what we know now. Through the first 21 picks, we’ve already seen potential Hall of Fame players switch teams, and multiple captains move up and down the draft board.
Here are the results of the redraft so far:
1st Overall: Jonathan Toews (St. Louis Blues)
2nd Overall: Claude Giroux (Pittsburgh Penguins)
3rd Overall: Nicklas Backstrom (Chicago Blackhawks)
4th Overall: Brad Marchand (Washington Capitals)
5th Overall: Phil Kessel (Boston Bruins)
6th Overall: Jordan Staal (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Milan Lucic (New York Islanders)
8th Overall: Kyle Okposo (Phoenix Coyotes)
9th Overall: Erik Johnson (Minnesota Wild)
10th Overall: Derick Brassard (Florida Panthers)
11th Overall: Bryan Little (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Nick Foligno (Atlanta Thrashers)
13th Overall: Semyon Varlamov (Toronto Maple Leafs)
14th Overall: Artem Anisimov (Vancouver Canucks)
15th Overall: Michael Grabner (Tampa Bay Lightning)
16th Overall: Patrik Berglund (San Jose Sharks)
17th Overall: Jeff Petry (Los Angeles Kings)
18th Overall: Jonathan Bernier (Colorado Avalanche)
19th Overall: Mathieu Perreault (Anaheim Ducks)
20th Overall: Michael Frolik (Montreal Canadiens)
21st Overall: Cal Clutterbuck (New York Rangers)
22nd Overall: James Reimer (Philadelphia Flyers)
23rd Overall: Leo Komarov (Washington Capitals)
24th Overall: Steve Mason (Buffalo Sabres)
25th Overall: Michal Neuvirth (St. Louis Blues)
While there usually aren’t many goalies that go in the first round, we’re on a bit of a goalie run here as Neuvirth becomes the third goalie in the last four picks while moving up nine spots overall from his original selection by Washington.
He took a fairly long road to the NHL as didn’t become a full-time player with the Capitals until 2010-11 where he became their starting goalie which helped enable them to move Semyon Varlamov to Colorado. He never was really able to repeat that level of performance and was eventually dealt to Buffalo to allow the Caps to add Jaroslav Halak as a deadline rental for the stretch run.
Neuvirth’s time with Buffalo didn’t last very long as he served as Jhonas Enroth‘s backup for most of the 2014-15 season before once again being dealt at the deadline. This time, he was off to the Islanders to serve as the backup, coincidentally to Halak who he was traded for less than a year earlier. His time in New York was largely uneventful and he departed for Philadelphia in free agency in the summer of 2015.
Things started off well for the 30-year-old in his first season with the Flyers but they haven’t gone as well since then. Injury issues have been a concern over the last two years and he has been inconsistent when he has played. Neuvirth is in the final year of his contract and with the young goalie depth Philadelphia has, it’s safe to suggest that he won’t be with them too much longer.
Overall, Neuvirth has played in 251 career regular season games, ranking him fifth among goalies from that draft class. He hasn’t been able to become a legitimate starter but has still been able to carve out a nice career as a backup. Given the increasing role of backups in recent years, he should have some suitors this summer if he can show he’s healthy.
Now, we move on to the twenty-sixth selection which was held by Calgary. They, too, selected a goalie in Leland Irving although he hasn’t had anywhere near the type of success they hoped he would. Irving has played in just 13 NHL games, the last of which came back in 2012-12. Since then, he has bounced around several other leagues in the AHL, KHL, SM-liiga, and this season, the EBEL.
As a result, the Flames are set to fare a lot better with this selection than their original one. Who should they take? Have your say by voting in the poll below.
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Minor Transactions: 11/07/18
After an interesting night in the NHL that saw the Ottawa Senators prove they can still compete among all the noise, and one of the newest St. Louis Blues forwards finally record a hat trick, there’s plenty to do on this Wednesday morning. With just three games scheduled for tonight, teams will be making adjustments to their lineups and preparing for the next few days. As always, we’ll be here to keep track of all those minor moves.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have returned forward Trevor Moore to the minor leagues, now that they’re off for a few days. Moore didn’t suit up for the Maple Leafs this time around, but should be considered the first call-up if the team experiences any more injuries up front. That said, with a road trip coming up next week he could be back up to fill the extra roster spot in just a few days.
- Anthony Peluso has been recalled by the Calgary Flames after Dillon Dube was moved to injured reserve. Peluso took rushes with the team at practice as well, indicating that he’ll get into the lineup for the third time this season. Dube is dealing with a concussion, but his injured reserve stint is retroactive to November 3rd meaning he could come off whenever he is healthy.
- Alex Lyon and Tyrell Goulbourne have been returned to the AHL by the Philadelphia Flyers, indicating that at least one of Brian Elliott or Michal Neuvirth will be able to suit up tomorrow night against the Arizona Coyotes. Calvin Pickard is the only fully healthy goaltender on the roster now, but sitting Lyon at the NHL level with little to do wasn’t an option.
- The Vancouver Canucks have reassigned Jalen Chatfield to the Utica Comets of the AHL, ending his brief NHL taste before he actually played in a game. Chatfield, an undrafted free agent signing, has played seven games for the Comets this season but is still waiting to make his NHL debut.
- After just a day, the Detroit Red Wings have returned Christoffer Ehn to the minor leagues. Ehn got just 6:53 in ice time last night for the Red Wings, but managed to record four hits and a shot on goal in his 10th game of the season. The young forward will likely be the first call-up again down the road for Detroit.
- Kenny Agostino has been recalled by the Montreal Canadiens, giving the former AHL MVP another shot at the highest level. The minor league dynamo has another ten points in his first 12 games for the Laval Rocket this season, continuing his near point-per-game pace in the AHL through five seasons. Despite that success, he’s been given just 22 opportunities to suit up for an NHL game, something he’ll try to change with the Canadiens this season.
- The Carolina Hurricanes have brought up two young players once again, recalling Phillip Di Giuseppe and Clark Bishop from the Charlotte Checkers. To make room, Nicolas Roy has been sent back down after six games with the Hurricanes. Carolina has been swapping players in and out of their bottom-six all season trying to find a fit, and will give Di Giuseppe and Bishop another chance to make an impression in the coming days.
- The Anaheim Ducks have returned center Chase De Leo to San Diego of the AHL, just one day after recalling him. The 23-year-old didn’t play in Tuesday’s loss against the Kings. De Leo is off to a decent start in the minors with five points in eight games and will likely get another look with the big club later on this season.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Vilardi, Matthews
The NHL has announced their Three Stars for the latest week of the regular season, giving the Calgary Flames something to finally celebrate. Though the Flames are still giving up goals at an unfortunate pace, their offense has exploded and has them in first place in the Pacific Division. That’s in big part due to Sean Monahan‘s eight-point week which has earned him first star honors. The young center now has 18 points in his first 15 games this season and is on pace to shatter his previous career-high of 64 points, set last year. With 146 goals already in his young career—Monahan turned 24 just a few weeks ago—he’s on track to be one of the best scorers to ever wear a Flames uniform. Jarome Iginla is clearly the leader with 525 regular season goals for Calgary, but Monahan already ranks 17th and could jump into the top-12 by season’s end.
Young stars was the theme of this week’s awards, as super rookie Elias Pettersson and underrated center Brayden Point took home second and third star. Pettersson is one of the most exciting players in the NHL right now, while Point continues to develop into the next great two-way center even in the shadows of other Tampa Bay stars like Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning have a huge contract negotiation coming with Point at the end of this year, when he enters restricted free agency for the first time. If his point output continues at its current pace—he’s on track for just under 100—they’ll be hard pressed to find room for him among all their other talented and well paid forwards without making a corresponding move.
- Though Los Angeles Kings fans may have felt a chill run through their body upon reading Bob McKenzie of TSN’s report that Gabe Vilardi suffered a setback in an off-ice training session, Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider was told that it’s nothing to really worry about. Viladri has a tight hip flexor, but should be back on the ice in a few days. That’s great news for a player who can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to injury, and has played just 48 OHL games since being selected 11th overall in 2017. The 19-year old forward is a dominant puck possessing force when healthy, but needs to get back on the ice full-time before he can really prove he’ll be a part of the turnaround in Los Angeles.
- Speaking of getting back on the ice, Auston Matthews skated today in Toronto with a team of coaches including Haley Wickenheiser as he works his way back from his latest shoulder injury. The Maple Leafs indicated that it would be a minimum of four weeks from October 29th before Matthews would be ready for game action, meaning he’s still several weeks away from the lineup. Still, with the Maple Leafs coming off a dominating 5-0 win on Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, seeing their best player on the ice shooting pucks already has to be another morale boost as they try to keep pace with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division.
Nathan Walker, Matt Donovan Placed On Waivers
Monday: Friedman reports that all three players have cleared waivers today, meaning Walker will be sent to the minor leagues. Donovan meanwhile has signed a two-year deal with the Predators and can now play in the NHL this season.
Sunday: Elliotte Friedman reports that two players were put on waivers today, as the Washington Capitals have waived forward Nathan Walker, while the Nashville Predators waived defenseman Matt Donovan. Friedman also notes that the Calgary Flames have placed Yasim Ehliz on unconditional waivers with the purpose of releasing him from his contract.
With Washington Capitals’ Travis Boyd expected to be activated off of LTIR shortly, someone on the roster had to go and with the impressive play the Capitals have received from recent waiver claim Dmitrij Jaskin, Walker was the only option left to put on waivers. Walker was placed on waivers by the Capitals last year and he was claimed by Edmonton on Dec. 1. However, the Oilers decided not to keep him and placed him back on waivers on Dec. 20, allowing the Capitals to claim him back and send him to Hershey. The team hopes it can slip him past without going through the same troubles this year. Walker only managed to appear in three games this season with just an assist, so putting him on waivers made the most sense.
Donovan’s situation was a little more confusing as he isn’t even on the team’s roster as he signed an AHL deal with the Milwaukee Admirals, the Predators AHL affiliate. However, the fact he’s on waivers means that Nashville has signed the 28-year-old blueliner to a NHL-level contract, which would require the team to send him through waivers. Early reports suggest the team has signed him to a one-year, two-way deal. Donovan, a fourth-round pick in 2008, played much of the early part of his career with the New York Islanders organization, including a 52-game stint with the Islanders in the 2013-14 season even though most of his career was spent in the AHL. He played the past two years in the SHL before joining Milwaukee. He has six goals and six assists in 13 games so far this year.
Calgary originally signed Ehliz back in June after the 25-year winger wrapped up his eighth-year in the German DEL. The undersized forward, however, didn’t make the Flames NHL team and has had trouble cracking the Stockton Heat lineup in the AHL as he has only appeared in four games with no points and a minus-5. It’s likely Ehliz would prefer to return to Europe to continue his career.
Reaction to Los Angeles Kings’ Coaching Changes
The Los Angeles Kings fired head coach John Stevens and assistant coach Don Nachbaur Sunday and brought in two national team coaches in Willie Desjardins (Canada) and Marco Sturm (Germany). The Kings hope that the pair will be able to try and fix the mess surrounding the 4-8-1 franchise that had high expectations going into the season. Here are some reactions from the Kings as well as the journalists around the situation:
- TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the Kings had already made their decision to fire Stevens after their 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, as many wondered why the team opted to relieve the coach of his duties after the team picked up a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday.
- McKenzie adds that the interim tag suggests that if Desjardins and Sturm fare well behind the bench this year, the interim tag could be removed. However, if the team cannot turn the team completely around, the Kings will conduct a formal and extensive search for a new head coach after this season.
- TSN’s Darren Dreger writes that Sturm would be a prime candidate for the Kings’ coaching job next year after years of solid coaching on the international level.
- Los Angeles Times’ Helene Elliott reports that Stevens was well aware that his job security was in jeopardy and was always both classy and accommodating. He admitted last week that being on the hot seat was part of his job.
- Sportsnet’s John Shannon writes that one of the biggest problems for Kings management was a real belief that the team had lost its passion. The team believes that Desjardins, Sturm and Dave Lowry who remains from the old regime can bring that passion back to the team. “We’re going to create a desire for these players to play well here,” general manager Rob Blake said (via Los Angeles Times’ Curtis Zupke).
- Fox Sports Patrick O’Neal writes that Blake said a “complete level” of Kings needs to improve, suggesting that the GM isn’t happy with any player or any member within the organization at the moment.
- For those looking for more information on Desjardins, The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek (subscription required) wrote a in-depth piece on the coach before the Olympics in February when he was head coach of Team Canada, including how he got the job there in the first place. “I saw Willie’s teams play a lot last year scouting for Montreal,” said Sean Burke the general manager of the men’s Olympic team. “I was always impressed with how much he got out of his players. I looked at the group we were putting together and thought, ‘well that’s what we’re going to need here.’ We’re going to have a group, where the coach needs to get the most out of the guys – and there’s even more of that element to that in an Olympic event than there would be in an 82-game NHL season. If he can get it out of the NHL guys for 82 games, he can sure get it out of the guys during the Olympics.”
- The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro (subscription required) notes that Desjardins was a top candidate to take the Dallas Stars job in April which eventually went to Jim Montgomery. However, Shapiro also profiled the coach before Dallas had made its final decision. The profile includes his resume as well as a breakdown of his coaching style.
- The Associated Press’ Steven Whyno reminds fans that Sturm coached the German National team to the silver medal at the Olympics, a team that surprised many and almost slipped past Team Russia for the gold.
- FlamesNation reporter Ryan Pike reports that Nachbaur is considered to be a very respected coach with extensive WHL experience, but he hasn’t been able to translate those coaching talents to the NHL.
- Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen writes that Desjardins had a tough assignment as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks which started in the 2014-15 season. The scribe writes that Vancouver didn’t have enough talent to be successful, but his coaching style at Medicine Hat in the WHL showed that he likes up-tempo teams that push play up the ice.
- Sirius XM’s Nick Alberga writes that if Desjardins and Sturm don’t make a significant impact on the team, the next domino would likely be the team making trades to break up the team.
Blackhawks’ Duncan Keith Unlikely To Face Supplemental Discipline
Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith had a short night against the Calgary Flames last night. The veteran logged just 37 second of ice time, as he was ejected from the game on just his second shift, less than three minutes into the first period of the game. Keith was guilty of a boarding call on Flames rookie forward Dillon Dube, when he smashed Dube head-first into the end boards (video). Keith was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct, ending his night before it had really begun.
However, The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus hears that no additional discipline is coming for Keith. Seeing as Keith was ejected so early into the game, the misconduct operated more or less like a one-game suspension. Lazerus calls this already a “significant penalty for what was a borderline hit”. Lazerus is not wrong; the hit looks bad, but also isn’t a typical “between the numbers” boarding call. Dube was hit with force, but more from the side and with some sense of where Keith was coming from. A game misconduct is a debatable response to such an incident.
Yet, a couple factors do work against Lazerus’ claims. First, Dube did not return to the game and may have suffered a lasting head injury. Second, the last time Keith was in trouble, the league got it wrong. At the tail end of the 2015-16 season, Keith was suspended for the final five regular season games and first postseason game for the Blackhawks after a violent slash to the face of Minnesota Wild forward Charlie Coyle. Intentional, dangerous, and not unprecedented – Keith had a similar slashing incident with the Los Angeles Kings’ Jeff Carter in the 2013 playoffs – Keith somehow escaped with just six games when Boston Bruins defenseman Marty McSorley received a season-long suspension for his notorious slash back in 2000. The league was simply far too lenient in their response and the suspension was universally panned. This would be a chance to make up for that mistake which, even three years later, is still fresh. At the end of the day, Keith is probably safe, but the NHL Department of Player Safety will certainly take a look and has fair reason to tack on a fine or suspension.
Snapshots: “Trade Bait”, Lindholm, Spezza
The second month of the NHL season is underway and with it comes the first iteration of TSN’s “Trade Bait” board. To no surprise, unsigned Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander tops the list. With the countdown at 28 days until the December 1st deadline for Nylander to sign and play in the NHL this season, the impasse between the two sides is desperately in need of a resolution, and with each day that goes by, a trade looks more and more likely. TSN’s Frank Seravalli notes that it was the first week of November last year when No. 1-ranked trade bait player Matt Duchene was traded away, making it entirely possible that a Nylander trade or other big name move could drop in the next few days. Joining Nylander in the top six of the list are recent rumor mill highlights Kevin Hayes of the New York Rangers and Alec Martinez and Tanner Pearson of the Los Angeles Kings, as well as summer trade bait board holdout Mats Zuccarello, also of the Rangers, and perennial rumor monger Gustav Nyquist of the Detroit Red Wings. Both free agency-bound Columbus Blue Jackets superstars – Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin – feature in the top ten, as does a possible Nylander return piece Brett Pesce of the Carolina Hurricanes. A surprise addition is Winnipeg Jets defenseman Tyler Myers, who seems unlikely to move in the midst of what the Jets hope is a Stanley Cup-caliber season. So too is Wayne Simmonds, who the Philadelphia Flyers seemingly would like to re-sign and keep on as a leader and core contributor, but the Flyers’ success this season will likely determine his availability. The trade board is limited to just 15 names right now, but this initial list certainly features plenty of talent and some names that have already featured prominently in rumors. TSN may have perfect timing, as the NHL trade market seems ready to heat up.
- One of the off-season’s biggest trades almost went differently, writes Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. Fox talked to new Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters recently, who stated that he expected a different package from a different team entirely in return for defenseman Dougie Hamilton, only to find that his former club, the Carolina Hurricanes, had offered the top package of Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin. Peters (obviously) says that he likes the way the deal turned out. While Hanifin is off to a slow start in Calgary, Lindholm has been an excellent fit next to Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau on the top line and currently sports a 24.3% shooting percentage to go with a team-leading nine goals and total of 14 points.
- Fox also recently spoke with Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza, who this past week played in his 1,000th NHL game, about how he is approaching a contract year. Spezza was transparent with his answer:
“Not when you’re 35. You don’t care about the contract years… I just want to play the year, have a good year. I want to be back here next year. The money doesn’t matter. I just want to play and make sure I have a good role… It’s different when you’re at this point in my career. I just want to be on a team that has a chance to win. So, no, I can’t say that’s once played into my mind… That time has passed in my career. I’m just looking to play and be on a good team and have a good role and contribute… If you put the work into it, you get rewarded with big contracts. I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever played the game for the money.”
Spezza’s honesty is refreshing, but he also contradicts himself with a scenario that is likely to unfold as the season progresses. Spezza states that he wants to be back in Dallas next season, yet also wants a chance to finally win the Stanley Cup. Those two things may not coincide soon enough for the veteran center. The Stars currently share the 14th-best record in the NHL, but sit sixth out of seven in the powerhouse Central Division and have struggled to score goals early on this season. If Dallas cannot improve over the course of the season, Spezza will become an attractive trade rental candidate, especially since his eight points thus far indicate a bounce-back season compared to a disappointing 2017-18 campaign. Dallas may also be a few years away from really competing with the likes of Nashville and Winnipeg in the Central. A desire to win may make a continued career with the Stars less likely, but would make Spezza’s decision to waive his No-Movement Clause and choices in free agency much easier.
Trade Rumors: Hurricanes, Hayes, Pearson
The Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the biggest early surprises of the 2018-19 season with a 6-3-1 record that trails only the powerhouse Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan Division. The team is in the top half of the league in goals for and against, led by top-ten NHL scorer Sebastian Aho and a top-six on defense that rivals anyone in the league. The Hurricanes are certainly not without flaws, special teams and goaltending to highlight a couple, but overall have been very impressive with one of the youngest rosters in the league. Yet, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes that new GM Don Waddell is “open for business”. Given the surplus of talented defenseman on the Carolina roster and in the system, Waddell simply has the luxury of fielding offers from D-needy teams and waiting for the right offer. Potentially on the block could be long-time ‘Cane Justin Faulk, young Brett Pesce, or reliable Trevor van Riemsdyk. Each of Carolina’s top-six defensemen is signed through at least next season, making these three righties attractive long-term additions. Teams in search of a younger asset could also take a look at AHLers Haydn Fleury or Roland McKeown, long considered by many to be players that should be playing regular minutes in the NHL. Garrioch notes that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers are among the teams most desperate for help on the right side of the blue line and adds fuel to the fire by reporting that Toronto GM Kyle Dubas was in attendance at the ‘Canes last game. It has been rumored that Carolina could be the leading candidate to land disgruntled William Nylander, while Edmonton could be willing to part with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the right deal. Waddell’s first trade, in which he acquired Micheal Ferland and Dougie Hamilton from the Calgary Flames, has worked out nicely thus far. Can he do it again?
- It comes as no surprise that New York Rangers center Kevin Hayes is drawing trade interest. Despite his insistence that he would like to remain in New York, the one-year extension he signed this off-season said otherwise. The rebuilding Rangers are likely to deal Hayes, one of many younger centers on the roster, before he has the chance to walk as a free agent. Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports that many teams already have their eye on Hayes, implying that he may not last until the NHL Trade Deadline. Kypreos specifically names the Winnipeg Jets as a team in need of a center, after Paul Stastny‘s unexpected departure this summer has left them short-handed down the middle. However, the Jets are not alone in that predicament; after losing Riley Nash to free agency and a failed preseason competition for the spot, the Boston Bruins could very much use a rental player at third-line pivot, while the trades of three different centers away from the club this summer has left the Arizona Coyotes thin at the position. These are just three of what is likely to be a list of more than a dozen suitors for the Rangers to choose between. Hayes’ days are numbered in New York.
- One name that could be a sneaky candidate to be the first notable trade victim of the regular season is Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Pearson. The Kings are floundering this season, holders of the worst record in the Western Conference, and Pearson has been part of the problem. The 26-year-old winger has just one point through ten games and has looked like a shell of himself. In Pearson’s defense, the Kings have also cut his ice time somewhat and relegated him to the fourth line for a while, but only as a result of his poor performance. Yet, Pearson has totaled 36 points or more in each of the past three year and is quietly a very strong two-way player. It would not be a shock to see Pearson right the ship with a change of scenery, but the Kings would have to ensure that they don’t sell too low on the well-rounded forward. Trade inquiries come with the territory of a basement record though and L.A., needing to shake things up, may soon be tempted to give Pearson away for the right price.
Snapshots: Schmidt, Versteeg, Wolski
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt is still weeks away from making his season debut, but he’s taking his first step toward returning to normality. Schmidt, who was suspended 20 games for testing positive for a banned substance in violation of the NHL’s PED policy, opted to spend the early season in Europe. Schmidt has been practicing with the Vienna Capitals of Austria’s EBEL this month, but is now wrapping up his time with the team. Sports Illustrated’s Alex Prewitt reports that Schmidt plans to return to North America in the next week as the month of October comes to an end. With close to a month still remaining before his 20 games are up and he can return to game action with Vegas, Schmidt will not go right back to his current squad. Instead, Prewitt adds that he will join his former team at the University of Minnesota as a practice participant for a short period of time. However, Prewitt notes that the CBA allows Schmidt to join the Golden Knights in a limited capacity beginning on November 8th. At that time, he can join in team meetings and practices. November 18th, a road game against the Edmonton Oilers, will mark Schmidt’s official return to the team. While the defense has held up in Schmidt’s absence, the defending Western Conference champs are only a .500 team through eight games and the third-worst offense in the league. Schmidt, who was second among defensemen and ninth overall in points for Vegas last year, will be a welcome addition to a team that needs a spark early this season.
- Kris Versteeg‘s season overseas was short-lived. The veteran winger was unable to find NHL employment this off-season and ended up signing with the KHL’s Avangard Omsk in early September. However, NHL.com’s European insider Igor Eronko reports that Versteeg is leaving the team to return to North America. Eronko did not have any more information on the reasoning behind Versteeg’s early exit, but this isn’t the first time that the 32-year-old forward has backed out of an opportunity abroad. Versteeg signed in Switzerland back in the summer of 2016, only to terminate his contract before ever playing with the club, the NLA’s SC Bern, allegedly due to medical insurance issues. He soon after committed to a PTO with the Edmonton Oilers that turned into a contract with the Calgary Flames. Perhaps Versteeg again senses an opportunity back in the NHL and has found a way out of his KHL obligations. For his part, TSN’s Darren Dreger states that Versteeg has been sick with shingles and proffers this could be the primary reason for the departure. One way or another, Versteeg’s time with Avangard is over after just 11 games and we will soon know about about his immediate plans.
- One player not returning to the NHL, despite some speculation, is forward Wojtek Wolski. Wolski recently terminated his contract with KHL club Mettalurg Magnitogorsk and was seeking a new place to play. That appears to be limited to either remaining in the KHL or moving to the NLA in Switzerland, rather than a return to North America, per a report from a Swiss news source. A return to the NHL for the 32-year-old Wolski, now six years separated from his last action at the highest level, was always a stretch, but many fans would not have minded seeing the Polish-Canadian star try his hand at a comeback.