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Snapshots: Blues, Schenn, Bally Sports

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The St. Louis Blues had a resounding win last night over the Florida Panthers, but it came at a cost. Both forward Brandon Saad and defenseman Torey Krug left the game with injuries, and they could be without both tomorrow against the New Jersey Devils, says head coach Craig Berube.

Berube confirmed Saad, who’s dealing with an upper-body injury, will miss the game. Krug is questionable with a lower-body injury. Both players have already missed chunks of the season with injuries, contributing to the Blues’ mediocre record. Saad’s injury opens the door for veteran Josh Leivo, who has four goals and 13 points in 38 games, to step into a top-six role for the time being. Neither Saad nor Krug have a timeline for their injuries, although Krug’s is obviously a short-term absence.

  • Despite other hot-commodity defensemen being scratched for asset protection, Vancouver Canucks defender Luke Schenn doesn’t expect the same treatment. Schenn told reporters that he “expects to be playing every night” ahead of the March 3 trade deadline, despite multiple teams having reported interest in the stay-at-home defenseman. The 33-year-old has 18 points and a +5 rating in 53 games this season.
  • The NHL Board of Governors had an emergency meeting today to discuss the financial struggles of Bally Sports Network’s parent group, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. Diamond Sports, a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, operates the Bally Sports umbrella of regional sports networks that broadcasts the home games of many U.S.-based teams. Today, they skipped a debt payment of $140MM as the organization nears bankruptcy. A potential sudden, unexpected lack of TV revenue is certainly a bit of financial concern for the league.

New York Rangers Reassign Will Cuylle

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Feb 9: Cuylle has now been sent back to the AHL. He played just 7:44 in the team’s win over Vancouver last night.

Feb 5: In addition to the recall of Sammy Blais that was reported yesterday, the Rangers have plucked another forward from their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Will Cuylle has been called up to the team’s active roster, having been sent down from the NHL on January 28th as the Rangers prepared for a lengthy break.

Cuylle, 21, made his NHL debut on January 25th, and has played in a total of two NHL games. He didn’t see very many minutes in those two games, averaging around six minutes per night. Accordingly, he didn’t make much of an impact, save for when he registered his first career fight in a bout against Vegas Golden Knights grinder Keegan Kolesar.

At the AHL level, Cuylle has been more effective. Ranked as one of the Rangers’ better prospects since being drafted in the second round in 2020, Cuylle has made his pro debut this season and done decently well. He’s scored 21 points in 42 games, which is just four points off of the team lead. He also leads the Wolf Pack in goals with 14.

Cuylle was a prolific scorer at the OHL level, scoring 80 points in his final junior season serving as captain of the Windsor Spitfires. The Rangers are hopeful that he can become an impactful physical presence with some goal-scoring touch at the NHL level.

The recall of Cuylle and the prior recall of Blais give the Rangers a full 23-man roster. That has some significance, as if the Rangers opted to keep a bare-minimum roster, they could bank more cap space to be able to use at the trade deadline. They currently stand to have over $6MM to work with at the deadline, but that number could be impacted by the Rangers using more cap space to fill a full roster.

Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Joseph Woll

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have once again added goalie Joseph Woll on an emergency recall, per CapFriendly.

Toronto recalled Woll last week after Matt Murray sustained a minor ankle injury. He was expected to be evaluated after All-Star weekend, and the fact that Toronto elected to bring Woll back up likely isn’t a good sign.

Woll was sent down to the minors on February 2 to participate in the AHL All-Star Classic. After starting the season on injured reserve, Woll has a sparkling 13-1-0 record and a .930 save percentage in 14 games with the Toronto Marlies.

Murray’s last appearance was on January 17th, and Samsonov has started every game since. While the break has allowed Samsonov to get some much-needed rest, Woll’s strong AHL performance could lead to him getting an NHL start soon. He did well in four appearances last season, posting a 3-1-0 record, a shutout, and a .911 save percentage.

League Notes: 2024 All-Star Game, Senators Sale, Revenue Projections

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With the on-ice festivities today in South Florida also came some important NHL business notes, courtesy of commissioner Gary Bettman at his pre-game press conference. As part of his media availability today, Bettman confirmed the rumor that Toronto will play host to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game.

It’s the first time Toronto has hosted the event since 2000 and the first time a Canadian market has hosted the event in 12 years. Ottawa was the last, hosting the 2012 All-Star Game. It also marks the return to where the All-Star Game began, first as a charity event in 1934 for Toronto forward Ace Bailey after he sustained a career-ending injury, and also where it was officially established in 1947. Whether the NHL will adjust the format or skills events, which have received their fair share of criticism in recent years, is unknown.

Snapshots: Puljujarvi, Korchinski, Walsh

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After a slow start, things haven’t gotten any better for Edmonton Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi this season. As his ice time continues to dwindle, currently being utilized in a fourth-line role, so does his trade value. The 2016 fourth-overall pick has just 10 points in 49 games this season after a 35-point campaign last year.

With Edmonton expected to go all-in at this year’s trade deadline, Puljujarvi will likely see his Oilers tenure end by March 3 to make room on the roster. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli outlined some potential destinations for the Finnish winger, also reporting that general manager Ken Holland sent a note to all 31 other NHL teams two weeks ago that Puljujarvi was available for trade.

That trade could come sooner rather than later, as the Oilers need to clear salary to activate Kailer Yamamoto from long-term injured reserve. They have at least another few days, as he’s not eligible to return until February 12. Seravalli lists the Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, and Tampa Bay Lightning as potential fits for Puljujarvi in a hockey trade but also says to keep the possibility of a pure cap-dump move to a salary cap floor-hugging team in mind.

  • In a mailbag piece released Wednesday, Scott Powers of The Athletic noted that 2022 first-round selection Kevin Korchinski could crack the Chicago Blackhawks’ NHL lineup out of training camp to start the 2023-24 season. Powers said the Blackhawks organization was impressed with his training camp before this season opened, and that “all signs” point to Korchinski being NHL-ready. Still 18, the left-shot defenseman has 40 points in 30 games with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds this season.
  • TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that current United States Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh is the current front-runner to replace Donald Fehr as the NHLPA’s Executive Director. Dreger says an NHLPA board meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, which could yield a vote on whether to instate Walsh as the league’s top player representative. The former mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, has a strong labor union background and is certainly an interesting selection.

Evening Notes: Boeser, IIHF/Russia, NHLPA Leadership

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After the Bo Horvat trade yesterday, the floodgates appear to be opening on the trade front. That’s especially true for the Vancouver Canucks, who have some desirable trade assets other than Horvat that could find their way out of town by the trade deadline.

One of those is Brock Boeser, who TSN’s Darren Dreger said today continues to receive interest from around the league. However, he reported that any Boeser trade, and the corresponding interest, hinges on how much salary Vancouver is willing to retain in a potential trade. Boeser is signed to a steep cap hit of $6.65MM for the next three seasons. With so many teams already dipping into LTIR pools to stay cap-compliant, Vancouver is unlikely to find a trade partner willing to take the full brunt of the deal. The 25-year-old has nine goals and 30 points in 41 games this season. That’s a 60-point pace over 82 games.

Colorado Avalanche Re-Assign Ben Meyers

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The Colorado Avalanche have assigned former University of Minnesota standout Ben Meyers to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, according to a tweet Saturday evening.

The move allows Meyers to get some games in with the Eagles over the NHL All-Star break after filling in as an injury substitute for the Avalanche for most of the season. In the minors, he has a goal and four assists in 10 games.

It hasn’t been the smoothest of transitions for Meyers, who was a Hobey Baker finalist last season and represented the United States at the Olympics and World Championships. He has just one point, a goal, in 27 games with the Avalanche, and he’s seen very few minutes under head coach Jared Bednar.

The 24-year-old could very well gain some confidence with more playing time in the minors, which would be highly beneficial for Colorado’s bottom six. They recently moved to fortify it, re-acquiring Matt Nieto in a trade with the San Jose Sharks.

Colorado plays next on February 7, a road matchup in Pittsburgh.

All-Star Notes: Women’s Hockey, New Events, Luongo

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The NHL will once again use its All-Star weekend to showcase some of the best and brightest in women’s hockey. This year will see five international women’s hockey stars join the Skills Competition: United States forwards Alex Carpenter and Hilary Knight and Canadian forwards Sarah Nurse, Rebecca Johnston, and Emily Clark.

A trend began by Kendall Coyne Schofield’s participation in the Fastest Skater competition at the 2019 All-Star game, women’s hockey participation in men’s professional All-Star events has steadily increased since, mainly at the NHL and ECHL levels. The Athletic’s Hailey Salvian doesn’t believe this is confirmation that the five players will actually participate in the skills events, however, they will be involved somehow in the weekend’s events.

  • Florida Panthers hometown fans at the All-Star game will see a familiar face: Hall-of-Fame netminder and Panthers legend Roberto Luongo. The only retired number in Panthers history, Luongo will suit up as the league’s “celebrity netminder” in the Breakaway Challenge. At last year’s All-Star Game in Las Vegas, the first Breakaway Challenge since 2016, women’s hockey legend Manon Rheaume and actor Wyatt Russell made appearances in the event.
  • Lastly, the 2023 South Florida edition of the weekend will see three new events for the skills portion: the Enterprise NHL Splash Shot, Chipotle NHL Pitch ‘n Puck, and Discover NHL Tendy Tandem. The Splash Shot competition is a dunk-tank style target-based event with a twist: it takes place on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. The Pitch ’n Puck event is a hockey/golf combination, where players will compete using both hockey and golf shots to sink the puck (or ball) into a par-four hole. The Tendy Tandem event is all-goalie, with a tandem from each division competing as shooters and as netminders.

Victor Soderstrom Changes Representation

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While his entry-level contract doesn’t expire until the summer of 2024, Arizona Coyotes top defense prospect Victor Soderstrom has changed his agency to Quartexx Management, according to a tweet Monday night.

The 11th overall pick in 2019, Soderstrom has yet to break into the NHL full-time and hasn’t seen so much as a call-up this season. He’s had a somewhat successful offensive campaign with AHL Tucson, recording 19 points in 38 games, but even that’s lower than last season’s point pace in the minors.

While Soderstrom was never drafted as a point producer, his two-way game hasn’t quite excelled in North America as the Coyotes organization would have hoped. He is still just 21, however, and defensemen are more prone to later bumps in their development.

Quartexx also represents some young, fringe NHLers such as Detroit’s Joe Veleno and Edmonton’s Philip Broberg, who was taken three spots ahead of Soderstrom in the 2019 draft. Broberg, however, has managed to step closer to a full-time NHL role this season, appearing in 22 games with Edmonton.

Vancouver Canucks Hire Rick Tocchet

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The Vancouver Canucks have made the worst-kept secret in hockey official. Rick Tocchet has been hired as head coach to replace the outgoing Bruce Boudreau, per a team release Sunday. Former NHL defensemen Adam Foote and Sergei Gonchar have also been added to the coaching staff, replacing assistant Trent Cull.

Foote directly replaces Cull as an assistant coach, and he’ll complement assistants Jason King and Mike Yeo and goalie coach Ian Clark on Tocchet’s staff. Gonchar was brought in as a “defensive development coach,” and it’s unclear whether he’ll be behind the bench for regular game action.

Tocchet replaces Boudreau, one of the most well-respected coaches in NHL history. Boudreau coached just 103 games with the Canucks, however, and finished with a 50-40-13 record. After finishing the 2021-22 season in Vancouver with a great pace of 32-15-10, the Canucks have just a .424 points percentage in 2022-23 and sit well out of the Western Conference playoff picture.

Boudreau’s departure from the Canucks organization is viewed as one of the ugliest in recent history by many, with many details of the veteran coach’s impending firing being leaked to the media throughout the decision-making process. The 68-year-old was visibly emotional as he coached his last games with the Canucks this week and received an outpouring of support from Canucks fans in the process.

Tocchet is now brought into a highly complex situation in Vancouver, where he serves as the 21st head coach in franchise history. In 438 games as an NHL head coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2008-2010) and Arizona Coyotes (2017-2021), he has a record of 178-200-60 and just one playoff appearance with Arizona in 2020.

General manager Patrik Allvin had the following statement on Tocchet’s hiring:

Rick Tocchet brings a wealth of knowledge to this team from both a coach and player perspective. He has had more than two decades of coaching experience, guiding teams of various styles. As a player, he displayed a high level of character, grit and intensity, while recording impressive offensive numbers.

Foote and Gonchar are some of the best defensemen in NHL history. They are obviously very targeted hirings by the Canucks organization to plug the defensive holes that have existed on their roster for the past number of years. However, their coaching experience is somewhat limited.

Foote coached midget hockey for a time in the 2010s but most recently served as the head coach of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets for two seasons from 2018 to 2020. His only NHL front office experience consists of four seasons as a development consultant for the Colorado Avalanche, from 2013 to 2017.

Gonchar, 48, did spend five years as a coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was a defensive development coach there as well from 2015 to 2017, during the team’s back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. He was then on staff as an assistant coach for three years from 2017 to 2020. He’s since served in various coaching capacities with the Russian national team.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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