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Free Agent Focus: Vancouver Canucks

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Free agency is now a little more than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of Vancouver’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agent: F Sven Baertschi — Considered to be a player who could break out at any time, the 25-year-old restricted free agent never has had the opportunity as injuries have derailed any true success so far. Having already played in parts of seven seasons and three complete seasons, Baertschi has never played a full season or even close to that much (his season high is 69 games back in 2015-16). This past year, the winger only got into 53 games as he dealt with a jaw injury in December after being hit in the face with a puck and then separated his shoulder in March that ended his season. With 14 goals and 29 points, Baertschi has the potential to contribute to a young team if he can stay healthy.

While the team will likely find a way to ink him to a one-year extension (he made $1.85MM each of the last two years), the team must also determine if he’s a core player who will be a major contributor on his team in the future. Another injury prone year could force the team to move on from him if he can’t prove that he can stay on the ice.

Other RFA’s: F Reid Boucher, F Cole Cassels, D Anton Cederholm, F Michael Chaput, F Markus Granlund, F Griffen Molino, D Derrick Pouliot, D Troy Stecher, D Mackenze Stewart, F Jake Virtanen.

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: F Darren Archibald — Archibald’s name suggests that the team has little to worry about when it comes to their own free agents. With just three NHL-level unrestricted free agents, Archibald’s value stands out. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound wing provides the team with grit, solid skating and physicality and has started to step up for Vancouver this season. A long-time AHL player, Archibald got into 27 games for the Canucks this season, putting up four goals and nine points and was a favorite of coach Travis Green and might be a cheap fourth-line option for Vancouver (he made $650K last season) rather than the franchise go out and sign a veteran for that spot.

Other UFA’s: G Richard Bachman, F Nic Dowd, F Jussi Jokinen, F Joseph Labate, F Jayson Megna, D Patrick Wiercioch.

Projected Cap Space: The team should have plenty of cap space if the team is ready to spend after the retirements of Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. They have a little less than $53MM committed to players for the 2018-19 season and few contracts of their own that they have to deal with. The team could attempt to add a few veterans to mesh with their young core of Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson and must focus more of their attention on their defense, but they do have plenty of space to do that.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacific Notes: Boeser, Viveiros, Cammalleri, Carrier

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While most people have been under the impression that rookie sensation Brock Boeser would be ready for the start of the 2018-19 season, general manager Jim Benning confirmed that, according to an NHL.com report.

Boeser suffered a back injury back on March 5 when he hit his back on an open bench door and broke a transverse process, a spur that projects off the side off each vertebrae. The injury, which Boeser once referred to as “career threatening,” ended a dominant rookie season to that point. In 62 games, he tallied 29 goals and 55 points. On top of all of that, he also was dealing with a wrist injury he suffered in February, which required platelet-rich plasma injections and four weeks of immobilization.

“My understanding is he’ll be 100 percent for training camp,” Benning said. “My understanding is the cast was taken off a week ago. I haven’t talked to Brock about it, but I believe the cast had to be on a month. The doctor that he went back to see in Minnesota is the Vikings’ hand specialist and that’s the doctor that did Brock’s surgery two years ago. We were able to get an appointment for him and we wanted to get him in there and have the doctor have a look at him. The worst-case scenario was that he would require another surgery, but he didn’t need to do that.”

  • Edmonton Journal’s David Staples writes that the Edmonton Oilers’ hiring of WHL Swift Current head coach Emaneul Viveiros is an underrated hire after the team announced their new assistant coaches Friday. What impresses the scribe the most is the way Viveiros’ Broncos, which captured the WHL title this season, had the league’s best power-play unit with a 29.4 percent success rate. If he can bring that ability to an Oilers team that struggled immensely in the last year in special teams play, Edmonton could be on their way to a rebound season. Staples himself adds that he believes the team was misusing both Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the power play as they were usually placed in the right face-off circle, a position that didn’t benefit either player.
  • Sticking with the Oilers, the Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins analyzes the value of bringing back forward Mike Cammalleri for next season. The soon-to-be 36-year-old veteran joined the Oilers in a November trade with the Los Angeles Kings and will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. While his numbers on offense (seven goals and 22 assists in 66 games last year) don’t stand out, they are actually quite solid for bottom-tier forward. His experience and IQ on the ice could prove valuable to a team with a lot of young players. His suspect defense doesn’t help his cause, but his solid face-off skills even out some of that. The scribe concludes that if the Oilers consider bringing him back, it should only be for the league minimum.
  • While a report yesterday stated that Vegas Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said that he expects forward William Carrier to be available for the Stanley Cup Finals, it looks doubtful that he’ll be available for Game 1 on Monday, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. Carrier was wearing a red no-contact sweater in practice today, suggesting he’s likely not ready yet to rejoin the team. He missed the entire Western Conference Finals against the Winnipeg Jets with an undisclosed injury.

 

Vancouver’s Pettersson Should Be A Canuck Immediately

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Now that the Vancouver Canucks have their 2017 first-round pick Elias Pettersson locked up to a maximum-level entry-level contract, the next question about the talented young forward will be when will the Canucks see him playing with the team?

With talk of him possibly being loaned back to the SHL for another season to a potential start with the Utica Comets in the AHL to adjust to the North American game, to immediately throwing the 19-year-old into the fire with the Canucks, there are multiple options.

One of the biggest obstacles is the fractured left thumb that Pettersson sustained while playing in the IIHF World Championships. According to Mike Halford of The Athletic (subscription required), Pettersson has already underwent a surgical procedure and will have his wrist in a cast for the next three to four weeks. Then the team must decide whether it is willing to put him out for the team’s annual summer prospect camp in the first week of July and then the Young Stars Classic in Pentiction in September.

Regardless, Halford writes whether he plays in either of those events or not, he expects that Pettersson will still be in a Canucks uniform at the start of the season, writing that while Vancouver general manager Jim Benning didn’t guarantee that Pettersson would be on the opening-day roster, he came awfully close.

“We’ll see where he’s at when he comes to training camp,” Benning explained. “We had Brock Boeser step in and be a big part of our team last year, and I think [Pettersson] can come in next year and step in. With the Sedins not playing, we’re going to have openings on the power play and we need offensive skill players, and I think he’s going to be one of those guys that can fill that need for us.”

The team also intends to start Pettersson at the right wing position before eventually moving him to center. That switch to center could last anywhere from two to three months to even his entire rookie season.

“Up the middle he gets more puck touches, and he can handle the puck [and use] his vision of the ice to make plays,” said Benning. “At some point he’s going to play centre for us.”

The scribe adds that rumor has it that Pettersson could be slated on a line next season with center Bo Horvat and rookie winger Jonathan Dahlen, a fellow countryman and former Swedish teammate. In fact, don’t be surprised if Pettersson ends up on the power play as well. With the loss of both Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin, the team will have multiple holes in their power play lineup and it is believed that Pettersson will likely take over Henrik’s spot on the half wall, his preferred spot.

“[Pettersson’s] got a great release on his shot,” Benning said. “On the power play, if we have him on one side and Brock on the other, we’ve got two real good shooters. I think he’s going to step in and make the adjustment and be successful.”

Canucks’ Pettersson Out For World Championships With Fractured Thumb

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The Vancouver Canucks injuries keep coming. After a season in which the team lost several of their key players for chunks of time, including Brock Boeser, Sven Baertschi, Chris Tanev, Markus Granlund and Erik Gudbranson among others, the Canucks now have learned that 2017 first-round pick Elias Pettersson, who was playing for Sweden at the IIHF World Championships in Denmark, will miss the rest of the tournament after suffering an injured thumb against Switzerland today, according to international correspondent Uffe Bodin.

ESPN’s Chris Peters reports the injury is a fractured thumb. It’s a setback for Pettersson, who many expect to join the Canucks next season after a monster rookie season in the SHL last season. The 19-year-old center scored 24 goals and 32 assists in 44 regular season games with Vaxjo. However, he even outdid himself in the SHL playoffs by putting up 10 goals and nine assists in 13 games. Combined, he put up the best rookie season in the SHL in the history of the league.

Still unsigned by the Canucks, there is no word or timetable on how long the injury will take to heal or whether this changes the Canucks plan to bring him to the U.S. after the tournament. It was believed the team intended to bring the youngster over this year and move him to the wing to acclimate him to the NHL. Pettersson was the fifth-overall pick in the 2017 draft last year. In five games so far at the World Championships, he had a goal and two assists.

 

Draft Lottery Can Change Many Franchises’ Futures

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A lottery it really is this year.

While the NHL draft lottery always garners quite a bit of attention, some years are just a bit different if the top pick is a game-changer, whether you’re talking about Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews or this year’s No. 1 option. With prospect Rasmus Dahlin listed as the consensus top pick this year, and described by many as having no weaknesses, he is considered to be one of the top defensive prospects to enter the league in possible decades. The 18-year-old defenseman out of Sweden should immediately change the state of any franchise that wins tonight.

With the lottery just hours away, how will each club look if they were to get lucky and win it?

Buffalo Sabres (18.5%) — The Sabres franchise would get a huge boost with the addition of Dahlin plus some badly needed luck that they seem to never have. Already boasting one of the worst defenses in the league and sudden talk that the team shouldn’t consider Rasmus Ristolainen a No. 1 defenseman, the team and general manager Jason Botterrill’s job would get much easier if they can win the lottery.

Ottawa Senators (13.5%) — Winning the lottery should make their tough decision easier as they traded away their top pick in the Matt Duchene trade, which is, fortunately for them, top-three protected. Winning the lottery is a no-brainer as they would take Dahlin who could either join star defenseman Erik Karlsson or allow the team to trade the veteran, knowing they already have his replacement. However, the real issue is they end up in the top three, do they keep the pick or send it to Colorado to avoid giving Colorado an unprotected first-rounder in 2019.

Arizona Coyotes (11.5%) — Despite having the third-worst record in the league this year, the Coyotes seem to be heading in the right direction as they went 19-12-4 in their final 35 games of the season as many of the team’s young players had started to figure things out. What better way to improve on that then to add Dahlin, who could convince fellow countryman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to stay on with the team for many years to come.

Montreal Canadiens (9.5%) — With the injury struggles of aging defenseman Shea Weber and little else defensive help nearby, the team could use the infusion of a franchise-changing defenseman joining the team. With Weber and goaltender Carey Price on huge contracts, a cheap franchise player could move the team in the right direction.

Detroit Red Wings (8.5%) — What better way to finally start the rebuild, then by adding a young, talented defender to join the team. With few defensive prospects on the horizon, the team’s suspect defense could get a huge boost with Dahlin. With the return of Mike Green unknown, and a group of aging veterans, the team needs someone to take over as the face of the franchise.

Vancouver Canucks (7.5%) — The Canucks rebuild is looking better and better with players like Adam Gaudette, Elias Pettersson, Jonathan Dahlen and defenseman Olli Juolevi about to arrive. Throw in Brock Boeser, Bo Horvat and a number of other prospects on the way, Dahlin would only quicken this team’s rise of young players. On top of that, the team is loaded with defensive-minded blueliners and could use an offensive power-play quarterback.

Chicago Blackhawks (6.5%) — While a lottery victory by the Blackhawks might infuriate the rest of the league, the Blackhawks do need to bolster their defensive depth and Dahlin could easily vault a struggling team back into the playoffs as he could take a lot of pressure off veterans Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.

New York Rangers (6%) — Just started a rebuild and they walk away with a generational talent? While many people believe the Rangers intend to have a quick rebuild and compete for a playoff spot within the next year or two, having Dahlin on the roster would only jettison the team to that goal quicker and putting him alongside Brady Skjei and Neal Pionk along with veteran Kevin Shattenkirk would help stabilize their blueline.

New York Islanders (6% total with 3.5% from their pick and Calgary’s 2.5%) — Perhaps winning the lottery would be enough to convince John Tavares to stay. Regardless, adding Dahlin to their defensive woes would only stabilize a team that has the offense to reach the playoffs. He could be a cornerstone the franchise hasn’t had there since Denis Potvin. Add in the fact that the Islanders also have the Calgary Flames’ pick, the team has a better chance to winning the lottery than quite a few teams.

Edmonton Oilers (5%) — Angry fans might protest Edmonton walking away as another lottery winner, but adding Dahlin to, again, a failing defense would allow a team that already has McDavid and Leon Draisaitl should bounce back to where they left off one year ago. Dahlin would provide the team with the No. 1 defenseman that they currently lack

Carolina Hurricanes (3%) — As the percentage begin to really drop, Carolina would only get richer as the team is already loaded in quality young defensemen and would allow the team to move other defenseman like Justin Faulk and acquire more scoring, which the team badly needs.

Dallas Stars (2%) — The addition of Dahlin along with last year’s third overall pick in Finnish defenseman Miro Heiskanen would make for a deadly combo and that’s not including John Klingberg.

Philadelphia Flyers (1.5% from St. Louis Blues) — Adding Dahlin could put Philadelphia at the same level with Pittsburgh, Washington and Tampa Bay.

Florida Panthers (1%) — The hottest team that didn’t make the playoffs would get a much needed boost if they could hit that 1/100 chance.

 

 

Poll: Who Should Win The Calder Trophy?

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The finalists for the Calder Trophy were announced yesterday, with Mathew Barzal, Brock Boeser and Clayton Keller landing in the top three. You can’t really argue with the nominations for any of the three after their outstanding seasons, but they certainly weren’t the only ones.

Kyle Connor in Winnipeg led all rookies with 31 goals, scoring at an incredible pace in the second half of the season. 21 of those goals came in his final 45 games, as a huge part of the Jets offensive attack.

Defenseman Charlie McAvoy registered just 32 points for the Boston Bruins, but logged more than 22 minutes a night as part of their top pairing. The 20-year old was tasked with playing against some of the best players in the league, and is hard matching against Auston Matthews and company in the playoffs.

Perhaps the most overlooked is Yanni Gourde, the undersized forward who finally made it to the NHL and showed why he should have been there all along. The 26-year old undrafted Gourde was an outstanding offensive player in junior, and registered 64 points—third most by any rookie—while playing in all 82 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

What about goaltenders? Juuse Saros played in 26 games for the Presidents Trophy-winning Nashville Predators, posting a .925 save percentage. That put him ninth in the entire league among goaltenders who made at least 20 starts, and would put him in Vezina contention had he played more games—teammate Pekka Rinne’s .927 has him as one of the favorites to win the award.

So who do you think should win the Calder? Cast a vote for not who you think will win, but who should win, and explain your reasoning in the comments below. We’ve listed several players as options to see if our readers at PHR end up with the same three finalists.

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Canucks Could Entertain Trading Sven Baertschi

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In general, it’s a bad idea for rebuilding teams to trade away promising young talent. While the Vancouver Canucks have defied the logic of a rebuild on several occasions, that rule applies to them as well. However, Jason Botchford of The Province makes a convincing case for one exception: Sven Baertschi.

Baertschi, 25, is a highly-skilled winger for the Canucks who has always carried a ton of potential since being selected 13th overall by the Calgary Flames in 2011. When on the ice, Baertschi shows flashes of brilliance that reminds fans of why he was selected so high. Yet, as Botchford points out, Baertschi has struggled to stay on the ice in his young career. In Calgary, it was inconsistency that kept him out of the lineup, but in Vancouver, it has instead been injury, which is even more concerning. Baertschi played in just 53 games this season and was shut down in early March with a separated shoulder. It was the third straight season in which Baerschi missed significant time and has still yet to crack 70 games in a campaign. Availability is one of the most important abilities a player can have and thus far Baertschi has failed in this department.

That alone is not enough to trade away a young player either, though. If Baertschi had played in 82 games in each of the past two seasons, he would have likely exceeded 20 goals and 45 points in both. If sold for pennies on the dollar, the often goal-hungry Canucks could live to regret a deal if Baertschi was to stay healthy and be a consistent 40-50 point player. However, Botchford also recognizes that Vancouver has ample depth in young player that they can afford to trade Baertschi if the right offer comes along. In particular, Botchford notes that Nikolay Goldobin has the makings of a very similar player to Baertschi and, beginning next season, is no long waiver-exempt and will require a full-time role. With players such as veterans Loui Eriksson, Sam Gagner, and Markus Granlund, Calder candidate Brock Boeser, young projects like Goldobin, Jake Virtanen, and Brendan Leipsic, and incoming prospects Elias Pettersson and Jonah Gadjovich, there is plenty of competition for spots on the wing, even without Baertschi. This doesn’t even count additions in free agency or with one of the Canucks early draft picks, either. There’s a safety blanket to moving Baertschi in the Canucks’ depth of options.

Will a deal actually happen? Baertschi is a restricted free agent and Botchford points to comments from GM Jim Benning stating that the team is only interested in re-signing him to a one-year deal. That doesn’t invoke feeling of confidence in their long-term plans for him. Then, even if he does have a full, consistent season, he would be an unrestricted free agent capable of pricing himself out of Vancouver for now return. It certainly appears that the time is now for the Canucks to capitalize on Baertschi’s remaining upside and intrigue to acquire further (re)building blocks. There’s always risk associated with trading away young talent, but for a player who has been better in theory than in reality thus far in his pro career, Benning and company would be smart to the pull the trigger this summer if the right opportunity presents itself.

Barzal, Boeser, Keller Nominated For Calder Trophy

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The NHL released the names of the 2018 Calder Trophy nominees as the New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal, Vancouver Canucks’ Brock Boeser and the Arizona Coyotes’ Clayton Keller were named as the league’s top rookies. The award will be voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association with the winners to be announced on June 20 in Las Vegas.

In a year in which there were a large amount of talented rookies, several good players didn’t get nominated, including the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Yanni Gourde, Boston Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy, New Jersey Devils’ Nico Hischier, Chicago Blackhawks’ Alex DeBrincat and Winnipeg Jets’ Kyle Connor.

Barzal is the likely hands down winner after putting up a great rookie year with 22 goals and 83 points, centering the Islanders’ second line for most of the season. He was the only rookie to average more than a point per game (1.04) and had three five-point performances throughout the season. His emergence could lessen the blow if teammate John Tavares opts to leave via free agency as Barzal could easily take over as the team’s franchise player.

Boeser’s chances are slimmer after only playing in 62 games when he was lost for the season with a back injury. However, in that time, he put up 29 goals, 55 points and was named MVP of the 2018 All-Star Game. He should be a constant presence along with Bo Horvat with the young core of forwards that are coming in as the team’s rebuilding project begins to come to fruition.

Keller led all rookies in ice time (18:05) and put up 23 goals and 42 assists in his freshman campaign and also led the team in goals, assists and points. He provides the franchise with another core piece as the Coyotes begin to build their team back to contending status.

NBC Sports’ Sean Leahy was the first to report the news.

Morning Notes: Trotz, Stamkos, Boeser

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The playoffs are important for every coach in the league as they try to secure their job and legacy in the league. None more than for Barry Trotz though, who could face unemployment if he can’t get the Washington Capitals past the second round, despite winning the Metropolitan Division for the third consecutive season.

Trotz is in a unique position, as detailed by Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post. Svrluga writes that assistant coaches Todd Reirden and Blaine Forsythe both have contracts beyond this season, despite Trotz being in his final year. Brian MacLellan was also just signed to a new multi-year extension, meaning the coach will likely take the heat should Washington fail once again.

  • Steven Stamkos hasn’t played since the first of April, but that won’t stop him from getting into the lineup for Game 1 in the Tampa Bay Lightning-New Jersey Devils series. Stamkos has been confirmed healthy enough to go, giving the Lightning back another superstar just in time.
  • Brock Boeser was one of the brightest lights in the entire NHL this season, starring for the Vancouver Canucks in his rookie year. That all came to an end when he suffered a broken bone in his back in early March, an injury that could have been much worse. “That injury could have ended my career, honestly” Boeser told Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet, while discussing the pain he went through in the hospital. The young forward is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the start of the 2018-19 season.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Keller, Makar, Boeser

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The NHL announced its three stars for the month of March as Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid has found his way to the top once again, named the first star. McDavid picked up 13 goals and 15 assists in 16 games, which pulls him into the lead for the Art Ross Trophy race. Despite the Oilers struggles, McDavid has taken his game to a new level as he has hit career highs in goals (41) and points (103) and remains six points ahead of Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov for top spot in the NHL.

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand is the league’s second star for March as he had 10 goals and 16 assists in 15 games. Anaheim goaltender John Gibson picked up third star honors after playing in 13 games, picking up nine wins and boasting a .931 save percentage during that span.

  • Arizona Coyotes announced rookie Clayton Keller was named NHL Rookie of the Month for the second time this season. Keller, who won the award in October, had a strong start to the season, but struggled during the winter months before picking it back up recently. He picked up 19 points in the month of March, including six goals over 17 games. The 19-year-old is ranked second among rookies in points with 63 behind the New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal.
  • BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater tweets that the Colorado Avalanche will have to wait a little while longer to get bring in 2017 first-round pick Cale Makar into the fold. The fourth-overall pick has decided to return to the University of Massachusetts – Amherst for his sophomore year.  An elite power-play defenseman, Makar had a solid freshman year at Amherst, putting up five goals and 21 points and the Avalanche had hopes of instantly upgrading its defense for next year.
  • Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal tweets that it is doubtful that Vancouver Canucks rookie Brock Boeser plays for Team USA at this year’s 2018 IIHF World Championships in Denmark. Boeser went down for the season with a back injury and likely will spend his summer getting ready for the 2018-19 season. The 21-year-old had a great rookie season in which he scored 29 goals and picked up 55 points.

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