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West Notes: Flames Goaltending, Eaves, Stars Injuries

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While the Flames could certainly benefit from a goaltending upgrade with starter Mike Smith struggling considerably to start the season, it doesn’t appear that Blue Jackets pending UFA Sergei Bobrovsky is an option for them.  In an appearance on Sportsnet 960 (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested that Calgary isn’t on the list of teams that Bobrovsky would be willing to waive his no-move clause for.  Smith has just a .876 save percentage so far this season which is the worst of his career by a significant margin and while backup David Rittich has played quite well, it would be difficult for the Flames to ask him to take over as the number one given that he only has 30 career NHL games under his belt.  However, if Calgary wants to make a move to help their goaltending, it doesn’t appear that they’ll be turning to Columbus for help.

Elsewhere in the West:

  • Ducks winger Patrick Eaves was transferred to injured reserve earlier in the week with an upper-body injury. Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register notes (Twitter link) that it’s actually a back injury that the 34-year-old is dealing with.  It has been a rough start to 2018-19 for Eaves as he missed the start of the year with a shoulder issue and has played in just five games so far this season.
  • While the hope was that Stars defenseman John Klingberg would only miss a month, that timeline has been extended already. Head coach Jim Montgomery told Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News that his top blueliner will be out at least five weeks and potentially more.  Meanwhile, Connor Carrick was expected to miss roughly three weeks as of late October due to a lower-body injury but DeFranks notes he’s still a few weeks away from returning which suggests he’s behind schedule in his recovery.  Fortunately for Dallas, Marc Methot is nearing a return and could play as early as Wednesday.

Dallas Forward Devin Shore Out With Lower-Body Injury

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The Dallas Stars are having a hard time staying healthy. The team is already without top-six forward Alexander Radulov and defensemen John Klingberg, Marc Methot and Connor Carrick, not to mention they have yet to see either Stephen Johns or Martin Hanzal hit the ice this season. That list has grown yet again, as forward Devin Shore is now expected to miss time as well due to a lower-body injury. Stars head coach Jim Montgomery told the media that Shore is expected to miss a minimum of seven to ten days.

Shore, 24, was off to a hot start this season. The University of Maine product is tied for fifth on the team in scoring behind five goals and six assists and has frequently been skating on the Stars’ top line. While Shore still has ample room to grow into a more offensively involved player, his 50-point pace was easily making 2018-19 look like his best season yet. The 2012 second-round pick has finished in the low thirties in back-to-back 82-game seasons to begin his NHL career. The question now is whether Shore will be able to bounce back quickly and get back to his current scoring clip or if an extended absence or slow return could send him back toward that 30-point projection.

While Shore is out, the Stars will have to call upon their depth once again. The team recently recalled Denis Gurianov from AHL Texas and will likely ask he, Mattias Janmark, Gemel Smith, and free agency addition Blake Comeau to take larger roles. This could be an opportunity for 2018 re-draft Adam Mascherin to make his NHL debut as well. Dallas is in the bottom third in the league in scoring as is and will have to find some suitable replacement for Shore’s production while he remains sidelined.

Injury Notes: Kulikov, Pesce, Carrick, Arvidsson

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The Winnipeg Jets recalled top prospect Sami Niku this weekend as a replacement for the injured Dmitry Kulikov, and he might get a longer than expected opportunity in the NHL. Kulikov has been moved to injured reserve and is out for at least four weeks according to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. The veteran defenseman suffered an upper-body injury, and will now have to fight his way back on the roster in a month’s time.

Kulikov had appeared in just six games this season for the Jets, averaging fewer than 11 minutes per game. That’s a far cry from the expectations placed on him when he signed a three-year $13MM deal in the summer of 2017, one that has not aged well given the rest of the big contracts Winnipeg needs to give out. The team has plenty of cap space at the moment, but will need to hand out deals to Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, Jacob Trouba and several other restricted free agents this summer.

  • Brett Pesce’s absence at Carolina Hurricanes practice may have set off some alarm bells given the recent speculation about the team’s interest in William Nylander, but Michael Smith of NHL.com reports the defenseman is working through a minor lower-body injury. Pesce won’t play tonight for the Hurricanes, but is listed as just day-to-day for now.
  • Meanwhile in Dallas, Stars’ defenseman Connor Carrick will miss at least three more weeks with his lower-body injury according to broadcaster Bruce LeVine. The Stars are without John Klingberg as well, leaving a lot of the puck-moving responsibility to young defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Julius Honka. Carrick has four points in nine games for the Stars since being acquired just prior to the beginning of the season. Importantly, that trade included a condition that would change the seventh round pick to a sixth round pick for Toronto if Carrick plays in 50 games. An injury like this puts that 50 game threshold very much in doubt.
  • Viktor Arvidsson had just returned from a stint on injured reserve, but is headed back to the shelf after leaving the Nashville Predators recent game against Dallas. Arvidsson has been placed on injured reserve once again, meaning he’ll miss at least a week with his upper-body injury.

Minor Transactions: 11/02/18

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NHL action in Finland is back on the schedule for this afternoon, following Patrik Laine’s hat trick yesterday in front of his home country. Aleksander Barkov will try to get some revenge as the Florida Panthers look to split the European series. The rest of the NHL, save for four teams playing later this evening, will be assessing their rosters and making any moves necessary for the weekend. We’ll keep track of all those minor moves right here.

  • Nate Prosser has been sent back to the minor leagues on a conditioning stint by the Minnesota Wild, given he’s only played three minutes of ice time the entire season. Prosser dressed as the seventh defenseman two weeks ago, but hasn’t seen any game action since. He’ll try to change that by getting into a back-to-back-to-back series with the Iowa Wild starting tonight.
  • Connor Carrick has been placed on injured reserve by the Dallas Stars, meaning Dillon Heatherington will get his first chance of the season. Heatherington played six games with the Stars last season and is off to a strong start in the AHL, with four points in his first ten games for the Texas Stars. The 23-year old defenseman was selected 50th overall in 2013, but is still trying to establish himself as a full-time piece with Dallas.
  • Rookie forward Jack Rodewald is on his way back to Ottawa. The Senators have recalled Rodewald from their AHL affiliate in Belleville just one day after sending him down. Rodewald, 24, has logged limited minutes on the fourth line for Ottawa simply as forward depth while the team awaits the return of Zack Smith.

West Notes: Puljujarvi, Thornton, Stars

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With Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi having been a healthy scratch in three of ten games already, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector notes that there is a debate inside the organization as to whether or not it’s time for the 2016 fourth overall pick to spend some time in the minors.  Edmonton was hesitant to give him much minor league time last season even when he was struggling but optics aside (it rarely looks good when a high pick heads for the minors), there’s certainly a strong case to be made that this is a good time to send him down.  Puljujarvi’s value has sharply eroded over the last couple of seasons and an extended stint with AHL Bakersfield would allow him to work on his all-around game while getting a lot more playing time than he currently is now.

Elsewhere out West:

  • While Sharks center Joe Thornton wasn’t expected to miss much time due to a knee infection, he has now missed the last night games. Head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters, including Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (subscription required), that while Thornton is “getting closer”, he still has a catheter in his arm to give him antibiotics which would need to be removed before he could get clearance to return to San Jose’s lineup.
  • Dallas is set to get one defenseman back but is losing another. Mike Heika of the Stars’ team website reports that Marc Methot is ready to return after missing the last two games due to a lower-body injury.  However, he’ll likely take the place of fellow rearguard Connor Carrick who sustained a lower-body injury of his own on Sunday.  Meanwhile, head coach Jim Montgomery indicated that he’s hopeful that winger Alexander Radulov will be available for Tuesday’s game against Montreal after missing four straight due to a lower-body issue.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Dallas Stars

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Dallas Stars

Current Cap Hit: $78,030,832 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Miro Heiskanen (three years, $894K)
D Julius Honka (one year, $863K)
F Roope Hintz (two years, $812K)

Potential Bonuses:

Heiskanen: $2.5MM
Honka: $500K
Hintz: $158K

Total: $3.16MM

The Dallas Stars got a big boost to their defense when they managed to get Heiskanen, the third-overall pick in 2017, to come over to the NHL from Finland. The talented defenseman should be both an offensive and defensive presence for years to come and should be one of the cornerstones of the franchise. The 19-year-old posted 11 goals and 23 points in 30 games in the Liiga last year and has made an immediate impact to the team. And at an entry-level price, should prove to be an even greater impact to the team’s salary cap.

Honka, the team’s first-round pick in 2014, has shown glimpses of being a dominant defenseman as well, but despite his offensive talents, his lack of defense has kept him out of the lineup and has caused him to doubt himself as he is dealing with confidence issues. There was a belief that with new head coach Jim Montgomery around, Honka was starting to develop into that top-four defenseman that the team was hoping for, but he has already been scratched twice, suggesting he’s still not there yet.

A team that lacks offensive depth should be thrilled that Hintz has made the roster. The 21-year-0ld is a 2015 second-round pick and is coming off a 20-goal campaign in his first season of the AHL and could provide some offense from the wing position.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Jason Spezza ($7.5MM, UFA)
D Marc Methot ($4.9MM, UFA)
F Mattias Janmark ($2.3MM, RFA)
D Esa Lindell ($2.2MM, RFA)
F Brett Ritchie ($1.75MM, RFA)
D Roman Polak ($1.3MM, UFA)
D Connor Carrick ($1.3MM, RFA)
F Jason Dickinson ($875K, RFA)
F Gemel Smith ($720K, RFA)

This could be the last season for Spezza, and if not, it will be at a much lower AAV. Spezza is coming off one of the worst seasons in his career when he tallied just eight goals and 26 points last season as the 35-year-old struggled. While more determined to put up better numbers this year, the team likely will have to find top-six offense from someone else down the road. Methot is no different as his almost $5MM in salary could be better used elsewhere with the team’s defensive depth, although like Spezza, they could bring him back on a cheaper deal. The defensive specialist struggled with injuries last year, appearing in just 36 games.

The team may need a lot of that money for Lindell, who has developed into a solid top-four defender in Dallas. His defense has always been solid, but he has improved on offense, posting a career-high of 27 points and needs to be locked up to a long-term deal. The team also might consider locking up Janmark, who has improved each year since joining the team. The 25-year-old put up 15 goals back in the 2016-17 season and followed that up with an 19-goal season last year, suggesting he could be ready to take that next step this year and become that much-needed offensive weapon on their second line.

Two Years Remaining

F Martin Hanzal ($4.75MM, UFA)
F Valeri Nichushkin ($2.95MM, RFA)
G Anton Khudobin ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Devin Shore ($2.3MM, RFA)
F Radek Faksa ($2.2MM, RFA)
F Tyler Pitlick ($1MM, UFA)

The team still has two years of Hanzal remaining, who signed a three-year deal last offseason, but has struggled with back issues. The 31-year-old appeared in just 38 games last season, posting five goals and 10 points and remains injured at the moment. While he has been skating, there remains no timetable for a return. However, if Dallas can get him back healthy at some point this year, he could provide the Stars with some secondary scoring. Although he’s never been a 20-goal scorer, Hanzal adds a physical presence to the team.

Nichushkin is another player who the team has high hopes for after he agreed to return to the NHL after a two year stint in the KHL. The 2013 first-rounder put up just pedestrian numbers in his two years with CSKA Moscow, but the team believes he should fare well on their second line this season and should produce some offense. Khudobin is another important addition to the team as the team fell apart after the team’s starter went down late in the season at a critical moment. Without a solid backup (Kari Lehtonen), the team struggled and failed to reach the playoffs. Khodobin adds that much needed solid netminder who can fill in for Bishop, who has a history of injury issues.

The team also needs offense from Shore and Faksa. Both have shown the ability to produce, at times, on the bottom-six lines, but both have the potential to take their games up a notch if they can find the right chemistry. Shore has scored just 24 goals in two seasons combined, while Faksa, a defensive center, scored a promising 17 goals last year.

Three Years Remaining

F Blake Comeau ($2.4MM, UFA)
D Stephen Johns ($2.34MM, UFA)

The team has little to worry about in three years as it has just the veteran Comeau locked up and Johns. Comeau was brought on board to add a gritty, veteran presence to the team, while the 6-foot-4 Johns put up solid defensive numbers for the Stars and even provided eight goals.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Jamie Benn ($9.5MM through 2024-25)
F Alexander Radulov ($6.25MM through 2021-22)
F Tyler Seguin ($5.75MM in 2018; $9.85MM through 2026-27)
G Ben Bishop ($4.92MM through 2022-23)
D John Klingberg ($4.25MM through 2021-22)

The team has several of their cornerstone players already locked up, the most significant came this summer when Seguin agreed to an eight-year extension to stay in Dallas long-term. Until he did so, there was plenty of speculation the team might have to move on from him, but with their franchise player locked in, the team can now focus on building the team around him rather than looking for a new franchise player. The 26-year-old posted a career-high 40 goals last year, but many feel that he is ready for a breakout season and might be able break out and take his game to the next level.

Benn is another player who the team counts on quite a bit on that fearsome first line. The 29-year-old is still a major offensive force who posted 36 goals and 79 points last season, bouncing back from a lesser 26-goal season in 2016-17. He continues to be a consistent scoring threat as he has never (strike shortened season excluded) scored less than 22 goals in his entire career. Radulov adds that third element for Seguin and Benn. The 32-year-old winger signed away from Montreal last summer was a perfect linemate on that first line as he tallied 27 goals of his own.

Bishop put up decent numbers last year as he played in 53 games for the Stars and put up a 2.53 GAA with a solid .916 save percentage. However, injuries knocked him out at a critical time and the team needs him to be healthy for a sustained playoff run. Klingberg had a great season for the Stars, despite seeing his goals scored drop to career-low eight. However, his career-high 59 assists suggested that he’s moving to the upper echelon of defenseman in the league and he even garnered some Norris Trophy consideration.

Buyouts

G Antti Niemi ($1.5MM in 2018-19)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Klingberg
Worst Value: Hanzal

(Excluding entry-level contracts)

Looking Ahead

The key to the Stars plan was getting Seguin to sign on the dotted line and despite some early offseason concerns that it might not happen, the two sides were finally able to come to an agreement before training camp started. That allows the team and general manager Jim Nill to continue working towards adding pieces around a core of Seguin, Benn, Klingberg and Heiskanen by adding much-needed depth. The team looks to be in good shape for the extended future. Now they just have to win some games.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Injury Notes: Tuch, Johns, Hayton

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Although the nature of his injury remains a complete mystery, Vegas Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch is headed to the injured reserve. The team announced this evening that the young power forward has been placed on IR, but did not add any further detail to the release. Tuch’s unavailability paired with the recent demotions of Daniel Carr and Curtis McKenzie leaves the Knights with just twelve healthy forwards and an open roster spot heading into their opener, indicating that the team will soon name a replacement to the roster, likely a recall from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Meanwhile, Tuch is eligible to return on October 8th, when Vegas travels to his hometown Buffalo Sabres. The Golden Knights will try to get Tuch back to full strength as soon as possible, as the 22-year-old recorded 37 points in his first full NHL season last year and appears primed for a breakout campaign in 2018-19.

  • The Dallas Stars clarified the status of defenseman Stephen Johns today, while also shedding light on their recent acquisition of fellow right-handed defenseman Connor Carrick. Sportsday’s Matthew DeFranks writes that Johns has been dealing with post-traumatic headaches over the past few weeks and the condition has landed him on the injured reserve. While head coach Jim Montgomery indicated that Johns could return to practice as soon as Wednesday – he has only practiced once since September 16th – but there is no timeline for his return to game action. The team will likely take it slow while Johns works through a sensitive diagnosis and in the meantime Carrick can help to pick up the slack. Johns was one of Dallas’ more consistent blue liners last season and the team will welcome him back when he is ready to go. Outside of Johns and forward Valeri Nichushkin, out day-to-day with a lower body injury, the Stars have had good luck with injuries in camp and enter the regular season with a solid depth chart of healthy players.
  • Last week, we noted that the Arizona Coyotes had reached the maximum of 50 contracts for the organization and had technically exceeded the limit with entry-level contracts for Barrett Hayton and Pierre-Olivier Joseph. However, the two youngsters were expected to be returned to juniors which would discount their contracts against the limit. While Joseph has returned to the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders, Hayton has in fact been officially named to the opening night roster, the team announced. How does such a move work? Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Hayton will not count against the contract limit until he has played in the minimum ten games for his contract to toll. As such, Hayton’s stay in the desert could be predetermined to just a short nine-game stint. However, if he wins a long-term spot on the roster, the Coyotes will be pressed to trade away one or more players under contract to make space. Why give Hayton this chance considering their roster inflexibility? Arizona is currently dealing with a laundry list of injuries, with Alex Galchenyuk, Christian Dvorak, and Josh Archibald on injured reserve and Nick Merkley additionally sidelined. The recent first-round pick may present the best opportunity in the system to make up for these losses.

Connor Carrick Traded To Dallas Stars

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The Toronto Maple Leafs announced this morning that Connor Carrick would be placed on waivers, but the defenseman never made it there. Instead, he’s been traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a conditional 2019 seventh-round pick. That pick will become a sixth-round selection if Carrick plays in 50 games for the Stars this season. There is no salary retained in the deal, meaning Dallas will pick up Carrick’s entire $1.3MM cap hit for 2018-19.

Carrick’s career has slowed considerably over the year, and found himself passed over by several other names in the Maple Leafs depth chart. After suiting up for 73 games for Toronto in the 2016-17 season including all six of their playoff contests against the Washington Capitals, he found himself on the outside looking in quite often last year and was essentially replaced on the roster by Travis Dermott. The only thing that represented some hope for Carrick heading into this season was the lack of depth on the right side for the Maple Leafs, after the departure of Roman Polak—ironically also to the Stars through free agency. Unproven rookie Igor Ozhiganov and 26-year old minor league veteran Justin Holl will start on the Maple Leafs roster as right-handed options now that Carrick has moved on.

Given those who have replaced him in Toronto, one might think that Carrick has struggled mightily to perform at the NHL level. That’s not necessarily true given his excellent possession statistics and reasonable point production last season, but detractors will point to his extremely sheltered usage under head coach Mike Babcock as a reason to believe he won’t be able to handle an increased role. Still, Carrick is just 24 years old and has put up huge numbers at the minor league level in the Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals organization, and should be given a chance to succeed in Dallas this season.

Interestingly, Carrick would seem to objectively carry more value to an organization than fellow depth defenseman Jakub Jerabek, but was able to fetch the Maple Leafs less than the sixth-round pick acquired this morning by the Edmonton Oilers in their trade of the latter. Though Carrick does carry a slightly larger cap hit—Jerabek’s one-year contract is worth just $1MM—he also will still be a restricted free agent next summer and provide another option for the Stars. Polak and Marc Methot are currently scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on July 1, 2019 and could be allowed to walk if Carrick can show his potential was never fully reached in Toronto.

Where he’ll fit into the Dallas lineup isn’t clear at present. Playing exclusively on the right side in Toronto, Carrick seemingly enters a depth chart behind other established options like John Klingberg, Stephen Johns and Polak. Julius Honka still hasn’t been able to lock up a full-time role with the Stars, but also represents a right-handed option for the team going forward. Still, for the cost of a seventh round pick the team will be able to take a first hand look at Carrick and see if they can squeeze any NHL performance out of him over the season. If they can’t, there isn’t a huge loss if they have to try to sneak him through waivers once again.

Sam Gagner Highlights Final Preseason Waivers

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With the NHL season set to begin on Wednesday night, today was the final day to place players on waivers and have them clear in time to assign to the minor leagues before tomorrow’s roster deadline. With that, a huge list of players are on the wire and available to the rest of the league. The full list of names is as follows:

D Trevor Murphy (ARZ)
D David Warsofsky (COL)
D Mark Alt (COL)
F Alex Broadhurst (CBJ)
F Remi Elie (DAL)
F Justin Dowling (DAL)
D Joel Hanley (DAL)
D Ryan Murphy (MIN)
F Rocco Grimaldi (NSH)
F Tom Kuhnhackl (NYI)
F Dale Weise (PHI)
F Taylor Leier (PHI)
G Antoine Bibeau (SJS)
F Dmitrij Jaskin (STL)
F Chris Thorburn (STL)
G Curtis McElhinney (TOR)
G Calvin Pickard (TOR)
F Sam Gagner (VAN)
F Darren Archibald (VAN)
F Daniel Carr (VGK)
F Curtis McKenzie (VGK)
D Aaron Ness (WSH)

D Connor Carrick (TOR)*

*Despite the Toronto Maple Leafs announcing that Carrick would be placed on waivers, the team actually traded him to the Dallas Stars instead. 

Toronto Maple Leafs Place Three On Waivers

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Though the full list of waivers won’t come out for another hour, the Toronto Maple Leafs have announced their final few cuts. The team has placed Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard on waivers in order to send them to the minor leagues. The move signals that Garret Sparks has won the job as backup to Frederik Andersen, and several other players on the bubble like Igor Ozhiganov, Martin Marincin, Justin Holl and Frederik Gauthier will all start the year with the NHL team.

Interestingly the team also announced that Connor Carrick would be placed on waivers, though his name was not included on the list submitted to the NHL. That’s because he was later traded to the Dallas Stars for a conditional seventh-round pick.

In keeping Sparks with the NHL club, the team has seemingly handed over the backup role to a younger player with more potential, albeit one that may come with more risk. McElhinney has performed incredibly well for the Maple Leafs since being claimed from the Columbus Blue Jackets, but is now 35 years old and likely will be seeing a decline before long. Sparks, 25, is coming off an AHL Goaltender of the Year award and a Calder Cup with the Toronto Marlies, and would almost certainly be claimed by a goaltending-needy team somewhere around the league. That same thing may happen with the veteran McElhinney or Pickard, who also has plenty of NHL experience and is still young enough to have a bit of upside remaining.

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