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Brett Kulak

Playoff Notes: Wahlstrom, Merrill, Lauzon, Foligno, Reaves

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It’s the postseason which of course means injuries. And while players often try to play through their ailments come playoff time, it’s not always possible. This appears to be the case for young New York Islander forward Oliver Wahlstrom. The dynamic winger was injured in Game Five of the Isles’ first round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins and did not appear in Game Six. Per Newsday’s Andrew Gross, head coach Barry Trotz stated on Friday that Wahlstrom is trying to work his way back into the lineup, but remains “doubtful” for Game One against the Boston Bruins. Saturday’s morning skate did not bring any update and it appears as though Wahlstrom will miss at least one more outing. Whatever injury he has sustained, New York is clearly concerned that it many linger. They have yet to disclose any details about Wahlstrom’s condition, likely to protect him should he fight through the pain and return to the lineup.

  • While the Montreal Canadiens hope to stay alive on Saturday night in order to see a Game Seven with the rival Toronto Maple Leafs, defenseman Jon Merrill will need much more than just one or even two wins if he is to see the ice again this postseason. The Canadiens have announced that Merrill will not play in Game Six, replaced in the lineup by Brett Kulak, and further comments by interim head coach Dominique Ducharme suggested that Merrill’s timeline for return is likely 7-to-14 days. If the Canadiens are to survive another week or two in the playoffs, they not only will need to complete an unlikely comeback against Toronto, but will also have to be the first team to defeat the Winnipeg Jets this postseason. It’s a tall task, especially without their solid deadline acquisition on the back end.
  • The Boston Bruins announced the opposite news this morning, with head coach Bruce Cassidy welcoming defenseman Jeremy Lauzon back to the lineup, according to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa. Lauzon missed most of the team’s first round series with the Washington Capitals after taking a shot off the hand in Game One. With Kevan Miller also sidelined following a head injury in the series, Lauzon’s return will provide the Bruins with much-needed support on their bottom pair and adds a top penalty killer back to the lineup.
  • Nick Foligno was a full participant in morning skate for the Toronto Maple Leafs and was wearing a regular practice jersey, but TSN’s Kristen Shilton warns not to read into that too much. Foligno has appeared to be ready for previous games in this series, but has nevertheless missed each of the past three match-ups with a lower-body injury. Shilton adds that he did not look comfortable at morning skate. Head coach Sheldon Keefe also noted that Foligno remains a game-time decision, so Shilton appears to be right to caution any expectation that the big deadline addition will suit up.
  • Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves was the cause of an injury on Friday night, shoving Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter face-first into the post. The check earned him a two-minute penalty for interference, but there was plenty of speculation that it could result in a suspension, especially given Reaves’ spotty reputation. However, it appears the grinder will move forward with his postseason scot-free. Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now reports that Reaves will not have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety and as such will not receive any supplemental discipline. The stars of the Colorado Avalanche will have to watch for Reaves (and watch out for their faces) in Round Two.

Atlantic Notes: Krug, Point, Kulak, Ruggiero

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After falling just short of winning the Stanley Cup in 2019, the Boston Bruins went home a little earlier than they hoped for this season, falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round. However, much of the criticism in Boston falls to the team’s lack of physicality against the Lightning’s bigger forwards, who really took advantage of the Bruins, especially against their smaller defenseman, Torey Krug and Matt Grzelcyk.

The Bruins saw this issue coming and traded for Nick Ritchie at the trade deadline to give the team a little added size, but Ritchie had some issues adjusting to the team immediately after the trade as the league was shutdown shortly thereafter and still didn’t fully adjust in the bubble during the playoffs.

With the need to get bigger and stronger this offseason, NBC Sports Joe Haggerty writes that the Bruins may be already thinking that it might make more sense to let the undersized Krug walk via free agency this year and take the money to invest in a blueliner who can provide more size and physicality rather than invest $7-8MM on bringing Krug back.

  • Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point remains an unknown before Game 4 today. Head coach Jon Cooper refused to give an update on Point, saying “You’ll see in a couple hours,” Cooper said (via NHL.com’s Bryan Burns). Point sat out Game 3 with an undisclosed injury, although he has been practicing. Point has picked up 23 points in 15 playoff games so far and would be a big boost for the team if he returns.
  • Assuming the Montreal Canadiens are able to sign defenseman Joel Edmundson after acquiring the blueliner in a trade with Carolina Saturday evening, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) writes that could be bad news for defensemen Brett Kulak and Victor Mete. With Ben Chiarot, rookie defenseman Alexander Romanov and potentially Edmundson playing on the left side, both Kulak and Mete will either have to fight for the seventh spot or the team could move one of the blueliners over to the right side. The scribe notes that Kulak, who was impressive in the playoffs, might be a potential trade candidate. He has averaged more than 17 minutes of ATOI over the past two years with the Canadiens. General manager Marc Bergevin wasn’t that posiitve on Kulak’s outlook, however, pointing out after the playoffs that while he could be a solid defender if he continues to play like he did, his inconsistency over the regular season has to be kept in mind as well.
  • While the Florida Panthers eventually hired Bill Zito to be their new general manager, it did do an extensive search for candidates, looking at former Islanders GM Garth Snow to NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday, also added another former candidate in Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medalist Angela Ruggiero. “During their search, the Panthers contacted four-time U.S. Olympian and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame Angela Ruggiero and asked her if she wanted to interview,” Friedman reported during Saturday’s Headlines. Ruggiero, 40, is the current CEO and co-founder of Sports Innovation Lab and asked the Panthers for a few days to consider whether she wanted to interview. By the time she got back to Florida, they had already hired Zito. Ruggiero has some experience in the front office with the New York Islanders years ago before going to Harvard for her MBA, but she could be a future candidate for other GM positions.

Brett Kulak, Jayce Hawryluk Confirm Positive COVID-19 Tests

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While the NHL hasn’t been making announcements on which players have tested positive for COVID-19, a handful of players have acknowledged that they have had the virus.  Two more have done so recently in Canadiens defenseman Brett Kulak and Senators center Jayce Hawryluk.

Following practice today, Kulak confirmed to reporters, including Sportsnet’s Eric Engels (Twitter links) that he was dealing with symptoms for a little more than a week after initially testing negative just prior to the start of camp.  Two positive tests quickly followed and he was only recently cleared to rejoin the team.  The 26-year-old is in the mix for a spot on Montreal’s third pairing for their series against Pittsburgh but after missing so much of camp, he might be on the outside looking in for next weekend’s start.

Meanwhile, Hawryluk was among those that tested positive back in March when the pandemic was just beginning.  He discussed what happened with Thomas Drance of The Athletic (subscription required) and wonders if he played through their last game (one in which he scored) with the virus.  Of the five Senators to test positive, the pending restricted free agent is the only one to publicly confirm his positive test.

Arbitration Notes: Departures, Capitals, Sabres

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It’s no secret that salary arbitration is not a friendly process. If a player does make it all the way through the hearing, that means that they’ve sat through a presentation by their own team about just how bad they are compared to other similar players. While teams and players often use the threat of the unknown of an arbitrator’s decision to move contract talks along, the potential unpleasantness of a hearing is also plenty of motivation to come to terms. Case in point: Colorado’s Sheldon Dries, who today settled on a one-year, two-way contract worth $735K. Dries’ contract comes in just $35K above the absolute worst possible outcome in an arbitration hearing, yet he opted not to argue his case in hopes of a better outcome. Why? Likely to avoid the breakdown in a relationship between he and the Avalanche if the hearing got ugly. It’s more common than it may seem – The Athletic’s Craig Custance crunched the numbers and found that the vast majority of players who go through an arbitration hearing end up leaving that team, one way or another.

Over the past ten years, 27 players have gone into a hearing. Not all of those players required an arbitrator’s award, but any resulting settlements still came after the unfortunate back-and-forth. Of those 27 players, Custance found that 14 were on new teams within a year and 21 were on new teams within three years. All of last summer’s cases – Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba, Ottawa’s Cody Ceci, Calgary’s Brett Kulak, and Dallas’ Gemel Smith – are on new teams now. In fact, of the 27 players who have reached a hearing since 2009, no player before 2015 remains on the team that the faced off with and only four players since still remain on good terms with their club: Nashville’s Craig Smith and Viktor Arvidsson, Washington’s Braden Holtby, and Vegas’ Nate Schmidt. This all goes to show that arbitration can be a dangerous method of negotiating for teams, even if the goal is to settle before an arbitrator’s decision. The numbers convincingly imply that an arbitration hearing is the death knell for a player’s relationship with his team. As far as this off-season goes, this analysis doesn’t bode well for Andrew Copp and the Jets, Christian Djoos and the Capitals, and Evan Rodrigues and the Sabres, all of whom not only went to hearings already this summer, but whose awards all favored the team more so than the player. With ten potential cases still to go, there could be even more players who one day look back at this off-season as the beginning of the end.

  • The Capitals may very well end up back in front of an arbitrator before long, with a case against forward Chandler Stephenson scheduled for August 1st. Although the decision in the Djoos case – a $1.25MM award against a $1.35MM midpoint – favored the team, it still puts them in a difficult situation regarding the salary cap and eliminates some hope that a resolution with Stephenson could come prior to a hearing. Washington is currently more than $300K over the salary cap ceiling after signing Djoos. While young defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler can be returned to the AHL without the threat of waivers for a $714K drop to get under the cap, it would leave the Capitals with just six defensemen. All of Washington’s 14 NHL forwards, including Stephenson, would be subject to waivers, although the team would likely want to carry that many forwards anyway. It’s a difficult conundrum not made any easier by the unknown of Stephenson’s contract either. The 25-year-old forward recorded 18 points in 67 games in 2017-18 and another 11 points in 62 games this past season. He will likely seek a salary of $1MM or more, a number that Washington simply cannot palate. Asked who the team would choose if faced with a choice between trading away Djoos or Stephenson to open up cap space and roster flexibility, NBC Sports’ J.J. Regan did not hesitate to say that Stephenson would be the one dealt. Defense is in short supply for the Capitals and Djoos is a proven starter. Stephenson on the other hand would be an expendable piece in a deep forward corps. It may not matter though, as moving Stephenson alone is unlikely to be a sufficient answer to Washington’s cap troubles.
  • If you think the Capitals having two cases is bad, wait until you hear about the Sabres. Like Washington, Buffalo has already been through one hearing this summer with forward Evan Rodrigues, landing a $2MM award against a $2.075MM midpoint. It was somewhat of a surprising decision and may have given GM Jason Botterill and company some confidence moving forward. That could wind up being a problem for all parties involved, as three of the remaining ten scheduled cases are also Sabres players: forward Remi Elie, goalie Linus Ullmark, and defenseman Jake McCabe. If Buffalo goes to hearing with even one more of these players, never mind all three, it could be a bad look for the organization and could cause a breakdown in numerous player relationships. However, if the team continues to win their arbitration battles, it would be a major help this season, as the team has just over $3MM in cap space left to sign the trio. It’s a long-term risk for a short-term gain for the Sabres.

Atlantic Notes: Sabres 2020 Offseason, Heinen, Chiarot

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While the Florida Panthers received all the attention before free agency opened on July 1 due to their excessive amount of cap space and they fact that they were attracting several of the top free agents on the market, next year’s offseason will look quite a bit different. In fact, it could be the Buffalo Sabres that could be poised to take a similar role next year before free agency opens and could find themselves the team that could lock up some of the top free agents for the 2020-21 season.

The Athletic’s John Vogl (subscription required) writes that while a lot can change in a year, Buffalo has only nine key players under contract for the 2020-21 season along with six restricted free agents. The team is expected to be free of a number of contracts, including Zach Bogosian ($5.14MM), Marco Scandella ($4MM), Vladimir Sobotka ($3.5MM), Conor Sheary ($3MM), Jimmy Vesey ($2.28MM), Matt Hunwick ($2.25MM), Scott Wilson ($1.05MM) and Casey Nelson ($812K). Assuming the salary cap rises by approximately $2MM, the Sabres should have about $29.5MM of projected salary cap, and assuming general manager Jason Botterill can properly persuade them, could add a couple of top free agents.

Who could be available, assuming that some of them don’t re-sign with their teams in the next season? Taylor Hall, Nicklas Backstrom, Brayden Schenn, Chris Kreider, Mike Hoffman, Alex Galchenyuk, Torey Krug, Jake Muzzin, Tyson Barrie, Roman Josi, and Braden Holtby.

  • While it’s been assumed for some time that Marcus Johansson would not return to Boston, (he signed with Buffalo earlier today), The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) looked at who might replace the veteran forward this season as the third-line left wing. The problem for Boston is that the team is loaded with a number of right-shot options in Zachary Senyshyn, Karson Kuhlman or Brett Ritchie. However, general manager Don Sweeney suggested it might be best to take the third-line right wing, Danton Heinen, and move him to the left side as he possesses more versatility than the others, which could allow one of the others to move in on the right side. “I think Heinen, depending on what side you play him on,” said Sweeney when asked who could replace Johansson. “Whether it’s Karson or Senyshyn or Brett Ritchie, guys that are right shots, we could play lefty-righty and move Danton over. I think he fits into the same mold of player creative-wise.”
  • The Athletic’s Marc Dumont (subscription required) analyzes the video of the Montreal Canadiens newly signed blueliner Ben Chiarot and looks at where he might fit in their lineup. Chiarot, who told reporters that he has discussed with the coaching staff about playing on the second pairing alongside Jeff Petry. However, Dumont suggests that would be a mistake as Chiarot struggles with retrieving pucks in a timely manner, which would not work well with Petry and suggests that Brett Kulak should continue in that role like he did last season. It might be best to play him on the Canadiens’ third pairing, but that seems a waste considering his $3.5MM price tag.

 

Canadiens Re-Sign Brett Kulak To Three-Year Contract

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Brett Kulak was a pleasant surprise on Montreal’s back end this past season and he has been rewarded for his efforts.  The team announced that they have signed the defenseman to a three-year contract with an AAV of $1.85MM.  CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the deal breaks down as follows:

2019-20: $1.95MM
2020-21: $1.4MM
2021-22: $2.2MM

The season didn’t get off to a great start for the 25-year-old.  He cleared waivers at the end of training camp with Calgary, the second time that had happened for him after went unclaimed in advance of his salary arbitration hearing back in July.  Shortly after passing through, the Flames flipped him to the Canadiens for a pair of minor league defenders in Rinat Valiev and Matt Taormina.

Montreal opted to keep Kulak in the minors to start the season where he collected 11 points in 19 games before being recalled for good in November.  He started out on the third pairing but by the end of the season, he was frequently featured in their top four.  Overall, he played in 57 games with the team, recording 17 points (6-11-17) while averaging nearly 18 minutes a night of playing time.

The Canadiens don’t feature a lot of depth on the left side of their back end with only Kulak and Victor Mete seemingly being pencilled in for roster spots next season.  If they don’t address that weakness over the summer, it’s quite possible that Kulak will be in a top-four role for 2019-20 which would make this contract somewhat of a bargain if he can handle the extra minutes over an entire season.

Atlantic Notes: Toronto’s Penalty Kill, Canadiens, Ristolainen, Acciari

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Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas took the blame for many things that went wrong this year at his season-ending press conference, the most interesting of which is the team’s struggle with the penalty kill, which stopped the Boston Bruins’ power play just nine out of 16 times during the playoffs. Dubas admitted he should have had more depth. While the coaching staff should be blamed as well, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox suggests ways to fix that penalty kill for next season.

The top suggestion is that the team must use real centers to take faceoffs during the penalty kill as winger Zach Hyman took the most faceoffs last season, going 69-72, while star John Tavares took just 29 faceoffs on the penalty kill and was the 12th-most used player on the penalty kill. The team must also add some depth to this team that could lose quite a few key penalty killers whether it’s Connor Brown, who is considered trade bait; Ron Hainsey, who will be an unrestricted free agent; or Travis Dermott, who will miss six months after shoulder surgery, the team must add players who can help their penalty kill.

  • One Atlantic Division challenger to the Maple Leafs could be in the running for one of their unrestricted free agents, as The Athletic’s Olivier Bouchard (subscription required) believes that the Montreal Canadiens should go after unrestricted free agent Jake Gardiner. The scribe points out that when the dust clears, Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin should have close to $11MM at his disposal and with defense being one of the team’s biggest need, Gardiner might be the perfect addition as the blueliner should be able to force defenseman Brett Kulak to a bottom-pairing role.
  • Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News writes that while the Buffalo Sabres have considered the possibility of trading defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen for a top-six forward, he believes that would be a mistake, claiming that rather than hiding his defensive weaknesses, the team keeps placing him in a role that doesn’t suit him, which is attempting to shutdown the opposing team’s players. Ristolainen, who finished the season with a NHL-worst rating of minus-41, has often been paired with defensive deficient players like Marco Scandella and Jake McCabe, while he also struggled inexplicably when paired with Rasmus Dahlin. Regardless, a new coach that can utilize Ristolainen properly might get the most out of him rather than the Sabres watch him flourish with another team.
  • Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports writes that Boston Bruins forward Noel Acciari has returned to practice and while he’s not expected to play in Game 2 on Sunday against the Carolina Huricanes, he could be ready for Game 3 in Carolina. Acciari, practiced in a non-contact jersey Saturday for the first time after missing the last three playoff games with an upper-body injury. “[Acciari] won’t play tomorrow,” said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. “He’s doing well. He should be a full practice [participant] for Monday. We’ll see what we’re doing [as a team] that day, but he’ll be ready whatever the case may be. Hopefully, that allows him to play Tuesday and then we’ll make our decision then.”

Atlantic Notes: Kotkaniemi, Nyquist, Pysyk, Petrovic, Kulak

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With countries releasing their preliminary rosters for the World Junior Championships, many teams must make some decisions on whether they intend to send some of their young prospects to World Juniors and interrupt their careers. The Montreal Canadiens could be one of those teams as they have a tough decision to make on Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who is on the Canadiens’ roster.

While on the surface it would be obvious the team would keep him, the team did allow defenseman Victor Mete to leave the team last year and play in the World Juniors. Mete, however, was struggling and was already losing playing time in Montreal. Kotkaniemi is in a similar boat as he started strong, but has just two points in the past eight games and has hit a “rookie wall.”

However, TSN’s Dan Robertson reports that general manager Marc Bergevin met the media this afternoon and stated that he’s 95 percent sure that Kotkaniemi won’t play in the WJC. The 18-year-old has three goals and 14 points in 29 games.

  • The impressive play the Detroit Red Wings have gotten from Gustav Nyquist causes many long-term questions. Nyquist, who is on pace for a career season as the 29-year-old already has seven goals and 26 points in 29 games is in the final year of a four-year, $19MM deal he signed back in 2015, could be looking for another big contract. The question that MLive’s Ansar Khan wonders is whether Detroit will consider bringing back Nyquist. It’s likely he will be asking for $5MM per year for three or four years. With the team in the middle of a rebuild, there is no guarantee the Red Wings will consider signing Nyquist a priority, although the team is also well known to give out money to veterans.
  • With the Seattle expansion draft on teams’ radars for the next few years, The Athletic’s George Richards (subscription required) writes that nothing worked out last time for the Florida Panthers who made a side deal to protect two defensemen by sending both Jon Marchessault and Reilly Smith to Vegas in the expansion draft. The team’s plan was to protect both Mark Pysyk and Alexander Petrovic. However, neither has been a key member of the team’s defense since then and both may not be on the roster by the time the next expansion draft rolls around.
  • After being traded from Calgary to Montreal and finding himself in the AHL, defenseman Brett Kulak could have considered his situation dire. However, Kulak has since been recalled and has found himself a key piece to the Canadiens’ defense and is paired next to Shea Weber, which looks like a perfect fit, according to Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette. “He was playing in the NHL last year, so it was not like I got a guy from the East Coast Hockey League,” said general manager Marc Bergevin. “He’s an NHL defenceman. Our scouting staff liked him because of the way the game is going. He’s a good skater.”

Victor Mete Assigned To AHL’s Laval Rocket

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After wowing as a rookie last season, Victor Mete has struggled to find the same kind of success this year for the Montreal Canadiens and has seen his ice time decreased dramatically. Today, that NHL ice time is completely gone as the Canadiens decided to assign Mete to the minor leagues. The young defenseman will get a chance to continue his development at the lower level, while Montreal inserts players like Brett Kulak into the NHL lineup.

Playing just 12:21 on Tuesday night, the second-lowest total of his young career since November of last season, the writing was on the wall on how the Canadiens were planning on deploying their defense corps going forward. The organization has big plans for Mete down the line, but with Shea Weber’s recent return the team is leaning heavily on their veteran options to turn around their recent struggles and get them back into the race for an Atlantic Division playoff spot. Mete meanwhile will likely log huge minutes for the Rocket, and his absence opens up a roster spot for the imminent return of Paul Byron.

Laval now has several defenders with recent NHL experience, as Mete joins the recently demoted Karl Alzner along with Brett Lernout on the blue line. That group will try to turn around the early struggles of the Rocket in their second season, off to an 8-12-2 start. The team released Ryan Sproul from his professional tryout today, opening up some additional playing time for Mete and the veteran Alzner, who scored a goal in his debut.

Montreal Canadiens Recall Brett Kulak

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In a somewhat surprising move, the Montreal Canadiens have recalled defenseman Brett Kulak, stating he’ll join them in Buffalo immediately. Kulak had been playing with the Laval Rocket of the AHL after being acquired from the Calgary Flames earlier this year.

The move is only surprising because of the recent reports that have surfaced that the Canadiens are looking to move out a defenseman given Shea Weber’s imminent return. Bringing Kulak up only complicates that, unless the team had already made up their minds on a trade or waivers assignment for one of the veteran options. It’s unclear if Kulak will get into the lineup right away, but there is at least some reason to believe he can help the team immediately.

Still just 24, Kulak played 71 games for the Flames last season and showed he could be relied on for at least third pairing minutes. The left-handed defenseman then filed for arbitration, which spurred Calgary to show him his real worth around the league by having him clear waivers just days before the hearing. After settling for a one-year, $900K contract, that low value was proven once again as he cost the Canadiens just two minor league players in Rinat Valiev and Matt Taormina.

In Laval though, Kulak has really impressed. With 11 points in 19 games, he ranks third on the team in scoring and has used his long frame to his advantage in the defensive end. While he certainly won’t be asked to take on huge minutes for the Canadiens right away, he does look to at least have a future in the organization, something that wasn’t clear in Calgary.

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