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Darnell Nurse Suspended One Game

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As expected, the Edmonton Oilers will be without star defenseman Darnell Nurse when they try to stay alive tomorrow night. The Department of Player Safety has announced a one-game suspension following last night’s head-butting incident, ruling Nurse out for game six. As the accompanying video explains:

It is important to note that this is not an accidental collision that occurs when two players are moving at speed and heads collide when attempting to throw a legal body check. This is an unacceptable head-butt delivered with the top of the helmet, delivered with the top of the helmet directly to an opponent’s face, with force. 

The DoPS also handed out a $5,000 fine to his Oilers’ teammate Zack Kassian, for the cross-check he delivered on Los Angeles Kings defenseman Sean Durzi last night.

For Nurse, it is a brutal decision that will leave his team shorthanded in the most important game of the season. The incident occurred late in the second period with the Kings on the powerplay, and was not penalized by the on-ice officials. As the league notes, there is no significant history of this behavior from the Oilers defenseman (at least in terms of supplementary discipline) as he has just one previous suspension–a three-game ban for serving as the aggressor in a 2016 fight.

There was also no injury on the play for Phillip Danault, who would go on to score in the third period and finish the game. Those factors will at least keep Nurse available for a game seven, should the series reach that.

It was actually Kassian’s cross-check that put the Oilers on the penalty kill in the first place, as he delivered a hard shot to the back of Durzi after the Kings’ defenseman was hit by Evander Kane. As Kane and Blake Lizotte engaged and received matching roughing penalties, Kassian cross-checked Durzi and took his own two-minute minor. Luckily, at least for the Oilers, it will only cost Kassian some money and not a chance to play in game six when they will need all hands on deck to avoid a disappointing series result.

In a related move, Edmonton recalled Philip Broberg from Bakersfield of the AHL. He played in 23 games with the Oilers during the regular season and could be an option to take Nurse’s place in the lineup.

Darnell Nurse To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Edmonton Oilers are on the brink of elimination and they may now be without their best defenseman. Darnell Nurse will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety today, after head-butting Los Angeles Kings forward Phillip Danault last night.

The incident in question happened on the penalty kill, as the Oilers tried to shoulder a barrage from the Kings, and Nurse was tangled with Danault in front of the net. As Mike Smith covered up a shot, Nurse extended up and through Danault, connecting helmet with chin. The play was not penalized by the on-ice officials, in what was a very physical contest.

If Nurse is suspended, which seems likely at this point, the Oilers will be heading to Los Angeles with some questions to answer on defense. The team is carrying seven defensemen at the moment with Kris Russell serving as the extra, and also have Philip Broberg that they could insert into the lineup with a recall. Either way, it will be a tough task for the team given Nurse’s importance.

Even while he deals with an injury, the 27-year-old is still averaging nearly 22 minutes a night and has two points in five games.

Snapshots: Scheifele, Sharks, Kuzmenko

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Despite some ominous comments earlier in the week, it turns out that Winnipeg Jets star Mark Scheifele did not request a trade in his exit interview with GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Schiefele had expressed concern over the direction of the team after the Jets missed the playoffs this season, which raised some eyebrows in the media and across the league. Scheifele is signed through the next two seasons, so if he was unhappy enough with the situation, he would have had to request a trade, which likely would have occurred during his exit interview this week. Instead, the situation remains status quo in Winnipeg, at least for now. If the Jets, who have a lot of money tied up in long-term contracts, cannot find a way to improve the roster within their salary cap restrictions early this offseason, Scheifele’s position could change. The 29-year-old center has the ability and the contract to draw immense interest if he does hit the trade block this summer.

  • Friedman notes that another team who could be in the star trading business this offseason are the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks reportedly held preliminary trade discussions with multiple teams this season regarding Erik Karlsson, and those talks could continue over the summer. The Sharks need to first name a new general manager, for which a search is ongoing, but the expectation is that whoever the team hires will be directed to retool rather than rebuild. In order to get more competitive sooner rather than later, the Sharks need to add more high-end depth to their lineup and need more cap space to do so. Moving all or even part of Karlsson’s five remaining years at $11.5MM would help immensely and the trade return wouldn’t hurt either. However, is it realistic to expect the Sharks to find a team both willing and able to add Karlsson? Friedman suggests that Brent Burns, who has three years remaining at $8MM, might be easier to move and would still accomplish the task of redistributing a mass amount of cap space from the right side of the blue line to be used elsewhere in the lineup. The Sharks are also expected to evaluate their options with Marc-Edouard Vlasic this offseason, whose remaining four years at $7MM could prove impossible to move but could be bought out instead.
  • While the Jets and the Sharks will be looking for outside-the-box ways to improve this summer, neither team appears to be in the race for KHL free agent Andrei Kuzmenko. Friedman lists the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, and Vegas Golden Knights as the finalists for the Russian winger’s services. Kuzmenko, 26, initially drew interest from at least 20 NHL teams, but now that his KHL contract has expired as of May 1 and he has begun actual negotiations, the list has been trimmed considerably. Kuzmenko is coming off of a career year in the KHL, recording 20 goals and 53 points in 45 games for SKA St. Petersburg, plus another 14 points in 16 playoff games. While he would be brand new to the NHL and his international experience is somewhat limited as well, Kuzmenko could be an affordable impact forward right away next season.

Oilers Assign Tyler Tullio And Jake Chiasson To Bakersfield

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  • The Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield announced a pair of roster moves today. They’ve added winger Tyler Tullio from OHL Oshawa and forward Jake Chiasson from WHL Brandon with their junior playoffs coming to an end.  Tullio was a fifth-round pick in 2020 (126th overall) and led the Generals in scoring with 42 goals and 44 assists in 65 games, a 25-point gap for that scoring title.  Meanwhile, Chiasson, a 2021 fourth-rounder (116th overall), was limited to just 20 games for the Wheat Kings this season due to injury but still contributed with six goals and a dozen assists.

West Notes: Saros, Canucks Scouts, Kuzmenko

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While it was previously reported that there was some hope that injured Nashville Predators starting goaltender Juuse Saros would be able to play after the first two games of his team’s first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche, it seems that timeline may have been a bit optimistic. Today, Predators coach John Hynes announced that Saros would not be playing in game three and that rookie Connor Ingram will retain the starter’s crease. After a brutal overtime loss last night, the Predators have a crucial home contest on Saturday as they try to fight their way back into the series.

While this news is undoubtedly unfortunate for the Predators given their increasingly dire situation and Saros’ brilliance this year, there is one wrinkle to this storyline that could prove to be a positive for Nashville: the emergence of Ingram. The rookie started game 2 after season-long backup David Rittich’s game one implosion, and performed admirably. Ingram made some spectacular saves and finished with 49 saves on 51 shots, nearly carrying the Predators to a miracle road victory. If Saros’ injury is what puts Ingram into the spotlight and he raises his stock leaguewide considerably, perhaps that can be some consolation to the Predators faithful.

Now, for some other notes from across the league:

  • It has been a season of much change for the Vancouver Canucks, and today there was some shuffling in their scouting department. Thomas Drance of The Athletic reported that the Canucks have parted ways with four members of their amateur scouting department: Derek Richard, Tim Lenardon, Brandon Benning, and Pat Conacher. The Vancouver Sun’s Patrick Johnston added a fifth name to the departures, reporting that Ted Hempson is also leaving the organization.  That’s a decent number of scouts to leave at one time, and this development supports the idea that this new Canucks front office is seeking deep, substantive changes to the organization.
  • The courting process has begun with highly-touted KHL free agent Andrei Kuzmenko, and the landscape regarding his suitors is starting to take shape. The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson reported that Oilers GM Ken Holland “may have talked to [Kuzmenko] personally” and that the team is interested in the point-per-game KHL scorer. In addition to the Oilers, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that the Canucks interviewed Kuzmenko today, and that “there is good interest from both sides.” It was previously reported that as many as 20 teams could be actively interested in signing Kuzmenko, so it’s likely that reports like these concerning his recruitment process will continue to trickle in as the competition to secure his services heats up.

Philip Broberg Recalled From AHL

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  • The Edmonton Oilers have recalled Philip Broberg, at least while the Bakersfield Condors await their next playoff opponent. The AHL squad dispatched the Abbotsford Canucks in two games, meaning they will be dormant until they find out who they play next. With the Oilers now headed to Los Angeles to continue their series against the Kings, it makes sense for Broberg to join them for the time being. Whether he gets into the lineup is another story, as the Oilers don’t have an obvious spot for him right now unless they wanted to change the winning lineup from game two, or are dealing with an undisclosed injury.

14 Teams Face Bonus Overages For 2022-23

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In the flat cap world, nearly every team in the league is dealing with situations that require every last dollar under the ceiling. More than half the league was using long-term injured reserve relief at some point this season, a decision that sometimes comes with some attached risk. One of those risks is the performance bonuses from entry-level contracts, which can cause overage penalties if achieved by the end of the season, should the team not have the cap space to fit them in. Those penalties are then applied to the following season’s cap, meaning they have less room to work with moving forward.

CapFriendly has calculated the overage penalties for the entire league, finding 14 of 32 teams that will face them next year. Notably, these penalties lower the cap ceiling for a team and therefore cannot be covered up by going into long-term injured relief again. The penalties are as follows:

Carolina Hurricanes: $112,500
Chicago Blackhawks: $237,500
Colorado Avalanche: $25,000
Dallas Stars: $675,000
Edmonton Oilers: $896,000
Florida Panthers: $637,500
Los Angeles Kings: $637,500
Montreal Canadiens: $1,132,500
New York Islanders $245,796
Philadelphia Flyers: $295,000
St. Louis Blues: $1,000,000*
Toronto Maple Leafs: $212,500
Vancouver Canucks: $1,250,000
Washington Capitals: $100,000

*Can still increase

Details on how each number was reached can be found on CapFriendly’s Twitter thread but the vast majority are from Schedule A performance bonuses for time on ice and games played. While some would argue that it is worth the penalty, as it means a young player has been a strong contributor, it can also be quite impactful moving forward. The Oilers, for instance, are facing a cap charge of nearly $900K, significantly more than the league minimum salary. It could very well mean they aren’t able to carry the maximum of 23 skaters for at least parts of next season while they are still trying to compete, thanks to the bonuses owed to Evan Bouchard this year.

It’s the Islanders that are perhaps the most interesting case since they did not finish in LTIR relief and in fact, were more than $2MM under the $81.5MM ceiling at the end of the year. While most of the other bonuses were on entry-level contracts, theirs included games played bonuses for Zach Parise, Zdeno Chara, and Andy Greene. That means despite being well out of the race, the Islanders will have a little less room to work with next season.

The Blues meanwhile could still face an additional overage, as their penalty is based on the bonuses given to Tyler Bozak. He can still earn $100K if the Blues win the first round and another $150K if they win the second round, which each would also be applied to next year’s cap.

Edmonton Oilers Facing Salary Cap Overage

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With the conclusion of the regular season, we can now begin to see the final numbers on performance bonuses in player contracts from the 2021-22 season. Two of these bonus figures will end up posing a small issue for the Edmonton Oilers, who owe $896K in performance bonuses to Evan Bouchard and Ryan McLeod (link). Bouchard, who just finished the second year of his three-year entry-level contract, earned $850K in performance bonuses this year for goals, assists, points, and points-per-game. McLeod, who is in the final year of his entry-level contract, earned $46K out of a maximum $57.5K games played bonus. Altogether, Edmonton owes an additional $896K, which counts against the salary cap.

Because the Oilers finished over the salary cap by using LTIR, the entire $896K will now count against next season’s salary cap for Edmonton. While this number may not seem like much at all, the NHL is currently in a flat salary cap period, and therefore every dollar counts. With the salary cap for the 2022-23 season at $82.5MM, Edmonton has already committed just over $70.2MM in salary for next season, and just under $4.3MM of it belongs to James Neal, Andrej Sekera, and Milan Lucic – none of whom play for the team any longer.

The $12MM Edmonton has in remaining cap space may also seem like a comfortable margin, but factoring in their six UFAs, including defensemen Kris Russell and Brett Kulak, who have become key pieces that could each earn a raise next season over their $1.25MM and $925K cap hits respectively, and forward Evander Kane who has rebounded nicely since signing with the club in January, their situation becomes a bit more tight. The Oilers also have three pending RFAs in Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto, and McLeod, each likely due at least a modest raise (the two former each made $1.175MM this season).

Edmonton is not exactly in a dire cap situation this offseason, having their core, including two of the best players of their generation, signed long-term for the most part. However, their situation, especially in a flat-cap, is an example of how even the most seemingly harmless of concerns, like an $896K bonus overage, can have a ripple effect for the organization and its offseason planning.

Josh Archibald Cleared To Travel With Team

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  • While not exactly an injury, there’s been a change in status for Josh Archibald according to Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft. One of the few unvaccinated players in the league, Archibald would have been unable to travel with the Oilers for games three and four of their first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. Now he can, as Archibald now has a medical exemption due to his myocarditis diagnosis according to Woodcroft, who spoke with reporters including Daniel Nugent-Bowman. The bottom-six forward is expected to enter the lineup tonight as the Oilers go back to a more traditional 12 forwards and six defensemen.

Darnell Nurse A Game-Time Decision

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  • It appears as though the Edmonton Oilers will have Darnell Nurse in the lineup tonight, despite him not actually confirming it at his press availability. Pierre LeBrun and Ryan Rishaug of TSN discuss the situation, noting that while the top defenseman is technically a game-time decision, they both believe he’ll be available this evening. Nurse hasn’t played since April 22, when he left early against the Colorado Avalanche. As they have many times in the second half, the Oilers could dress seven defensemen, especially if Nurse is still not at 100 percent.

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