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Pacific Notes: Tanev, Oates, Tippett

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The Vancouver Canucks have exceeded expectations so far this season and are about to get even better. With 18 points in 15 games, the Canucks hold the second spot in the Pacific Division right now and are riding a three-game win streak. Yet, they have been without stalwart defenseman Chris Tanev for the past five games and have had to find ways to earn points without his assistance. That ends tonight, as CapFriendly reports that Tanev has been activated from the injured reserve and should be active against the Detroit Red Wings this evening. With Alexander Edler still sidelined, Tanev should step right back into Vancouver’s ice time leader role and will try to improve upon his three total points so far in the campaign. Tanev’s return should be a major boost for the Canucks, who despite their relative success, are still among the bottom third of the league in points against and could use some more stability on the back end, the hallmark of Tanev’s game. To make room for Tanev, CapFriendly additionally notes that young Jalen Chatfield has been returned to the AHL’s Utica Comets. Chatfield, 22, is in his second pro season out of the OHL, but has yet to make his NHL debut.

  • Following the firing of John Stevens, hiring of Willie Desjardins, and other re-shuffling of the coaching staff, the Los Angeles Kings continue to make small changes to their operations. Today, GM Rob Blake came to terms on a consulting agreement with Hall of Fame player and former coach Adam Oates, the team announced. Oates, and his Oates Sports Group, currently provide skill evaluation and development services to individual players around the league and beyond. It will be business as usual for the company and their player clients, but now special services will be offered to the Kings. Los Angeles has dealt with speed and finesse issues for years now and this move signifies that they are willing to do whatever it takes to find the solution to those problems. They hope that Oates, who recorded 1420 points over his 19-year NHL career, can lend a major hand in the pursuit of a revamped offense under Desjardins.
  • In his latest 31 Thoughts article, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes that Dave Tippett has been a hotly rumored name on the NHL coaching market for a while now, with Friedman sounding somewhat surprised that he was not named as the replacement in L.A. or Chicago. When last we heard from the former Dallas Stars and Arizona Coyotes head coach, he had taken an advisory role with the potential Seattle expansion team. When Friedman reached out to Tippett recently for comment on the job market, he confirmed that he was happy with his current role and staying in Seattle. If Tippett really has been approached with coaching offers and has declined in favor of the status quo, that says a lot about his anticipated job with the Seattle expansion team. Tippett seems confident with his current allegiances, indicating that he is likely in line to be the franchise’s first head coach or perhaps even general manager.

Central Notes: Landeskog, Rinne, Schmaltz

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Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog has made quite a name for himself as he currently is tied for the NHL lead in goals scored with 11. That’s quite a feat for a player, who has averaged 20 goals a season for the past seven seasons, a number he could surpass before Thanksgiving. Regardless, Landeskog says most of his success comes from a combination of playing with the top line of Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, as well as his growing skills and confidence on the ice, according to Sean Keeler of the Denver Post.

“It’s just a combination of luck and hard work and confidence, and being in the right place at the right time,” Landeskog said. “I think, right now, I don’t think there’s a reason maybe other than our line’s played really well and has been able to create some scoring chances. Together with those two guys, yeah, I’ve been able to put some in the back of the net.”

While Landeskog’s game could easily drop back to earth at any time, many feel that the 25-year-old, a former second-overall pick back in 2011, may just have finally found his game.

“I think he’s worked on (his shooting), he’s worked on his touch around the net,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “He’s getting into those areas more, and he’s coming up with rebounds and loose pucks. And part of that is his teammates being able to move the puck into those areas on a more consistent basis.”

  • The Athletic’s Adam Vingan reports that one potential problem that could come with Pekka Rinne’s new two-year extension that he signed earlier today would be that there could be some expansion ramifications for the Nashville Predators. The scribe notes that since Rinne will have the same no-movement clause in his next contract, the Predators could be forced to protect Rinne and have to expose Juuse Saros to the Seattle expansion franchise in a couple of years. However, Rinne could opt to waive the no-movement clause as well and allow himself to be taken by Seattle like Marc-Andre Fleury did in Pittsburgh. Regardless, it’s too early to speculate, especially since the Seattle team hasn’t been formally approved.
  • After being scratched Thursday night, Chicago Blackhawks center Nick Schmaltz feels that he has learned his lesson after picking up just one assist in the last five games, according to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Mark Lazerus. “I don’t think I was playing as good as I can — especially in Vancouver, I didn’t think I had a very good game,” said Schmaltz. “Take it as a learning lesson and move on from it and make sure that I’m playing to stick in the lineup every night.”

Realignment Proposal “Vetted And Adopted” For Potential Seattle Expansion

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The NHL Board of Governors have still not officially voted to allow expansion to the city of Seattle, but as Pierre LeBrun notes on TSN’s latest Insider Trading segment, they’ve already worked out a realignment plan. A proposal has already been “vetted and adopted” by the board’s Executive Committee, the small selection of owners that first decides if things are even brought before the whole group. The realignment plan is now just waiting to see if Seattle will in fact be brought in as the league’s 32nd team, a vote that is expected to take place in early December.

Though he can’t guarantee it, LeBrun—and his fellow panelists Darren Dreger and Bob McKenzie apparently—feels as though the realignment would consist of the Arizona Coyotes moving to the Central Division, with Seattle taking their place in the Pacific Division. That’s the most obvious option, given the Central currently consists of just seven teams and putting a team from Seattle there doesn’t make much sense. The league also wouldn’t want to break up the rivalry of Calgary/Edmonton, or move the Vegas Golden Knights so soon after establishing them in the division.

If Seattle does end up in the Pacific, there’s a natural rivalry ready to take off with the city of Vancouver.

NHL Executive Committee Recommends Seattle Expansion

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The group trying to bring the NHL to Seattle—including city mayor Jenny Durkan, Oak View Group (OVG) CEO Tim Leiweke—met with the NHL’s Board of Governors Executive Committee today in New York, and discussed the plan for expansion for several hours. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman then spoke to reporters including Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, and announced that the committee’s “formal recommendation” was to move forward with the application. The board will vote in December on the motion, and seems likely to approve the expansion at this point. Both sides today agreed that the 2020-21 season is the target, though obviously there are still several hurdles to overcome before then. Chris Daniels of K5 News in Seattle reports that the committee’s recommendation was unanimous.

Plenty of other tidbits are coming out about the Seattle expansion process, including the fact that the Vegas Golden Knights will be exempt from the expansion draft whenever it comes about, but the biggest takeaway from today is that the league seems ready and willing to welcome this investment group into the fold. Seattle is on track to become the league’s 32nd team, and clubs will now have to start (if they haven’t already) preparing their rosters for another draft.

The Seattle City Council recently approved plans for the arena construction proposed by OVG, contingent on this recommendation meaning things should move forward on their end as well. That demolition and reconstruction of the current building and area is the key to when Seattle would start playing, as it won’t actually start until the vote in December at the earliest. Projects like this often face delays, but it seems as though everyone is working towards a 2020-21 entrance into the league—assuming the league doesn’t have a work stoppage at the time triggered by the upcoming CBA negotiations.

Seattle Arena Construction Will Not Begin Without NHL Expansion Vote

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While the Seattle expansion proposal is moving forward and will present to the NHL’s Board of Governors on October 2nd, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly recently said that there will not be a vote on that day to determine if a franchise is awarded to the city. Instead, that vote may come further down the line and play is now not expected to begin until the 2021-22 season. Today, Chris Daniels of K5 News reports another change in timeline, as the final transaction and integration documents recently submitted to the Seattle City Council include a clause that states construction on the new arena will not begin until the NHL awards a 32nd franchise to the city.

This doesn’t mean that things aren’t moving forward in Seattle, but does put a lot of importance on the upcoming vote, whenever it does take place. If the NHL decided the ownership group or city isn’t ready, a delay in awarding a franchise could cause any number of outcomes for the arena project. Daniels reports that the original plan dating back two years was to have a development agreement that did not “hinge on the acquisition of a team” but the new, changed agreement does include that clause.

The Oak View Group (OVG) which is spearheading the expansion application added minority investors this week and submitted several agreements to the city council for review including those for the arena development and lease. OVG is still set to present to the NHL Board of Governors next month, at which point we’ll likely know more about the timeline for an expansion vote and whether it is a realistic possibility for December when construction is now projected for.

Seattle Group Adds Minority Investors, Moves Forward With Arena Agreement

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If you still had any doubt that Seattle would be the location of the 32nd NHL franchise, today may have convinced you a little more. The Oak View Group, which is attempting to bring an expansion franchise to the city of Seattle, added minority investors and completed negotiations on three different agreements. Those agreements include a development plan for the new arena and a long-term lease. The minority partners include names like Adrian Hanauer, the owner of Seattle Sounders FC, and Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services.

The agreements will now be presented to the Seattle City Council, but Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke released a statement explaining his enthusiasm at this point:

Less than 12 months ago, we signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Seattle for the privately financed development of the new Seattle Center Arena. We are making tremendous progress and are looking forward to these next few weeks as we move into the City Council’s review of our agreements. These agreements reflect tremendous hard work by all sides. This is a process that we hope will conclude shortly as we’re ready to start breaking ground on an arena that will be world class when completed.

An early timeline would have the Seattle franchise enter the NHL for the 2020-21 season, though there are still several hurdles to overcome. Today was another step forward in that process though, and should be considered a positive. The Seattle-based investors are a huge financial boost to a franchise that is looking to carve out a place for themselves in a deep sports market, and should help them get off to a good start.

The next date circled is October 2nd, which is when Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan—who has been a staunch supporter of the project from day one—will make a presentation to the Executive Committee NHL’s Board of Governors.

Alexei Emelin Signs Three-Year Pact With KHL’s Avangard Omsk

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Long-time Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin agreed to terms this morning with Avangard Omsk, one day after the KHL team signed Kris Versteeg. The 32-year-old Emelin, who played six years in Montreal and then finished out his contract last year with the Nashville Predators, was having trouble finding work in the NHL, but opted to return to the KHL where he played parts of eight seasons.

Emelin arrived in the NHL at age 25, but almost immediately stepped into the Canadiens’ top-four and averaged close to 20 minutes a night throughout most of his NHL career. However, Montreal opted to expose Emelin and his $4.1MM contract in the expansion draft last year and Vegas took the bait, selecting him and then flipping him to Nashville for a third-round pick in the 2019 draft. The Predators brought the veteran defenseman on board to provide top-four depth while Ryan Ellis sat out for the first three months of the season after undergoing knee surgery. Emelin did that, but saw his minutes decrease significantly once Ellis returned as he was forced into the team’s third-line pairing.

Once a free agent, the 32-year-old struggled finding work as his lack of speed worked against him in a league where teams are looking to get faster. Emelin, however, showed he still has value as he managed to register 181 hits as well as blocking 109 shots last season, suggesting he should continue to fare well in the KHL. While Emelin will join Versteeg, he will also join up with two former Habs as well, including Alexander Perezhogin and David Desharnais.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Jason Garrison To PTO

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The Edmonton Oilers are out ahead of the crowd when it comes to locking up tryout candidates this off-season. After adding experienced two-way forward Scottie Upshall on a PTO last week, the team has now added another veteran to the mix. The Oilers have announced a PTO agreement with former Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Jason Garrison. With more than 500 NHL games under his belt, Garrison could help to make up for the loss of blue line leader Andrej Sekera if he performs well enough in camp.

Garrison is looking for any opportunity to get his career back on track. Once considered an elite defenseman, as evidenced by the six-year, $27.6MM contract that just expired, Garrison has been anything but in recent years. After his play slipped in his final years with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team arranged for Garrison to be selected by Vegas in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, even giving up the rights to KHL star Nikita Gusev and a pair of high picks to do so. Garrison then skated in just eight games with the Knights last season, clearing waivers twice over the course of a campaign spent almost entirely in the AHL.

At 33 years old, Garrison is hoping to show that he can still make a difference in the NHL. It is no surprise that the free agent market was quiet for the struggling defender, but he may have found a great option in a PTO with the Oilers. Since Sekera went down, there has been almost unanimous agreement among hockey pundits that Edmonton needed to make an addition. While the team has since added Jakub Jerabek, it would not be a shock to see the older, more experienced Garrison win a roster spot on a blue line that features an average NHL games played of 260 among the currently-slated starters. Garrison could not only make the team, but be a locker room leader for a squad that fell well short of expectations last year and could use some guidance in their effort to return to the postseason.

Pacific Notes: Flames Forwards, Haula, Horvat

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The Calgary Flames have made quite a few moves this offseason in hopes of reshaping their roster after a dismal second half that saw them out of the playoffs. However, the Flames new signings may have caused other issues that the team will have to deal with in a few years — namely the expansion draft.

The Athletic’s Kent Wilson (subscription required) writes that the team might be in trouble if/when the unnamed Seattle franchise has its expansion draft in 2020. Assuming all the rules are the same as they were for Vegas, Calgary will have a logjam of players at the forward position and won’t have enough spaces to protect some quality players.

Assuming there are no changes among forwards over the next two seasons, the team would likely protect or have to protect Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk, James Neal as six forwards they would likely protect. That would leave one spot open for players like Derek Ryan, Mark Jankowski, Sam Bennett, Andrew Mangiapane and Spencer Foo, which could leave several high quality players exposed to Seattle. Unless the team addresses these issues, the team may be giving Seattle a solid player.

  • Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal writes that the Vegas Golden Knights still haven’t decided on a plan for what they intend to do with second-line center Erik Haula after they signed Paul Stastny away from the Winnipeg Jets this offseason. Haula had a great offensive season, centering the second line with 29 goals and 55 points, but the line (along with the departed Neal and David Perron) struggled defensively. In fact, Vegas’ second line was one of the worst defensive lines in the league. “It produced, but the goals against per 60 minutes was not good enough,” said Vegas general manager George McPhee. “We were actually dead last among second lines in the league. You can just sort of look the other way on that or you can address it. We’re trying to address it.”
  • J.D. Burke of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that he believes that Vancouver Canucks center Bo Horvat should continue to take his game to a new level as he has every year. However, if there is one area of Horvat’s game that could use some upgrading it would be his defensive game as that’s the weakest part of his game. The 23-year-old took his scoring game up a notch last year when he potted 22 goals, an improvement on his previous career-high of 20 goals, but Horvat missed 15 games last year, so to put up a career-high in goals is key. However, with the additions of players like Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel and Tim Schaller, maybe defense won’t be that imperative.

The Case For Expanding NHL Rosters

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Last week, the NCAA passed a rule change allowing hockey teams to dress 19 skaters per game. Rather than the typical 18-man lineup – six defensemen and twelve forwards (not including goalies) – each squad is now allowed an extra man that can be used at either position. The college level is after all a developmental league and the ability to expose another player to game action each night benefits the growth of a greater majority of the roster. Yet, this rule change is one that could also benefit the NHL. For a variety of reasons, the league should consider expanding the allowable number of players who may dress for a game.

The first, and perhaps the most glaring reason, to consider this change is that hockey is the only mainstream sport that doesn’t allow an extra player to enter the game that doesn’t fit neatly into the lineup. Yes, hockey does have a large roster of 18 skaters and yes the lines and pair do substitute one another all game long. However, consider football, which has 11 starters on offense and 11 starters on defense for a 22-man starting roster that also substitutes one another. Yet, NFL game day rosters are 46 men deep, more than double the amount of starters. The same goes for lacrosse (field lacrosse), a more similar game to hockey, as only nine men play in the field but the average active roster in the NCAA is 44 players, nearly five times the starting roster. Even soccer (11 men in the field) and baseball (nine batters) allow for multiple substitutes who weren’t a part of a rather large starting lineup. Why then should the NHL limit teams to using only the 18 skaters who fit nicely into four forward lines and three defensive pairs?

There is also the fact that the NHL has reached a point that it needs to accommodate more talent at both ends of the spectrum. Young players often don’t have an easy fit on a roster. Developing offensive forwards may not yet have the ability and awareness for a top-nine role, but they certainly can’t help the team or themselves on the checking line. Young defensemen may not be ready to play major minutes against elite talent at the top level, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t ready at all. With the league trending in a more youthful direction, teams could drastically improve their development of certain players if there was an alternate choice between giving a prospect a starting job, sitting him in the press box, or banishing him to the AHL or back to juniors. If teams could slowly bring along pro-ready prospects by giving them the “extra slot” that the NCAA has approved, limiting their ice time and situations but exposing them to NHL action, it would likely be a popular move. However, some teams may instead like to use that slot on a veteran specialist. Just look at the current free agent market: last week we identified more than 40 useful players still available, yet the results of our poll strongly predict that less than ten of those players will find NHL employment. That might not be the case if each team had an extra slot to fill with an experienced penalty-killing forward or power play quarterback for example. Each off-season, more and more capable veterans go unsigned while teams still have needs due to roster limits alone. These players would rather not retire or move overseas, but they have often outgrown the minor leagues as well. Being that spare part on an NHL club would be an optimum fit.

For more evidence on the overflowing talent in the NHL, see the Vegas Golden Knights. An expansion team filled with rejects, young and old, managed to make it to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season and used 35 different players along the way. Even when the league likely adds another expansion team in Seattle in the next year or two, there will likely still be players – young and old – capable of playing in the NHL but without ample opportunity. Just by allowing one more player in the game each night, it will create more opportunities for many different types of players.

The easy way to refute the idea of expanding rosters is the salary cap. Expanding the number of players who dress for a game to 19 would likely mean expanding the roster limit to 24 players and thus increasing the salary cap ceiling in turn and the owners won’t go for that. Not so fast though; with the bulk of this off-season complete, CapFriendly projects that just six teams will enter the upcoming season with less than $2.4MM in cap space, the average NHL salary last season. Consider that the “extra man” will likely be an entry-level prospect or a discounted veteran and there is a case that nearly every team in the league (except for the St. Louis Blues) could add another player right now without touching the cap. Those that would rather push to the cap with just a 23-man roster would also be welcome to do so – the league mandates a maximum roster size, but not a minimum. Teams that carry the maximum 23 players on their roster already have three players that don’t dress each night and could simply make one of them the 19th man.

The NCAA seems to be on to something with expanding game day rosters in hockey. Most sports have this option and the NHL should too. While there is no underestimating the importance of chemistry to the game of hockey, having an alternate or strategic extra man makes a lot of sense. Be it a raw young player, a specifically-skilled veteran, a bench player there as an injury replacement, or even a playoff contender using the spot for a hired gun, there are many ways that an expanded roster could benefit prospect development, elongate careers, improve game play, and simply increase overall interest and excitement due to the strategy of it all. It’s time the league take a look at the possibility.

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