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Evening Notes: Kings, Capitals, Oilers

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The USA Today’s Kevin Allen reports that the Kings’ move to make Pierre Turgeon an offensive coordinator has been just what they needed. Allen writes that Turgeon is essentially the “creative thinking” coach who, according to Allen, is in charge of “coloring outside the lines, and inspiring others to do the same.” Anze Kopitar, who has already reached his total of 12 goals from last season, says that Turgeon listens as well as offers his own perspective on things:

“..It becomes a discussion. He gives you ideas of what is open and what isn’t … but it’s almost a two-way street more than just coaching us.”

Something has clicked because the Kings’ scoring is up from 2.43 goals last season to 2.85 in the current. Described as a “vibrant” personality, Allen adds that he’s brought a positive presence to the locker room and a different dimension that is undoubtedly helping the team.

  • Have the Capitals turned a corner? The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga writes that after winning three games over three quality teams by a combined score of 12-5, the Capitals are approaching their home stand with a “breathe easier” mentality instead of the rocky, stressed approach that gripped the team through a tough stretch in November. Svrluga admits that a falloff was expected, especially after the Kevin Shattenkirk deal last season that essentially pushed all the chips into the middle. Though it didn’t work out to a victory parade in June, there is still enough talent to not only make the playoffs, but still push to a deep run. Svrluga points out that in a bunched up league, several teams are scratching and clawing for better position, especially in the ultra competitive Metropolitan Division. Though they can beat the best, Svrluga wonders if they truly can hold up for the entire season.
  • Sportsnet’s Mark Spector extolls the importance of Edmonton developing its younger players–something many thought was already happening last season. Instead, this season has seen a lot of struggle from the Oilers, and Spector writes that you can’t win in the league unless you’re developing your in-house talent. He points out that the Penguins won back-to-back Cups with two superstars and a swath of youngsters “dotting” the first three lines. What that means, for Spector, is that head coach Todd McLellan should be willing to have centers Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each have their own line. Though McLellan is averse to it, Spector argues that it would solidify the team with three strong lines, and mirror what many of those successful teams are doing–strengthening their top 9 from the center out.

 

West Notes: Vanek, Seguin, McDavid

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Forward Thomas Vanek is having a bigger effect on the Canucks than previously expected writes Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. Though some fans were concerned about the one-year deal Vanek inked, the early indicators are that Vanek will turn out to be quite the bargain. Though the Wild cut him loose with a buyout during the summer of 2016, the Red Wings took a flier and then flipped him to the Panthers for a draft pick and Dylan McIlrath thanks to a nice return during his five months in Detroit. Though he only potted two goals for the Panthers, MacIntyre points out that he has five goals and fifteen points in 23 games already for Vancouver. For a player seeing third and fourth line work (13:18 ATOI), Vanek has been a low risk signing that has produced with limited minutes. Though there was concern he would block prospects, it’s shown that the veteran forward still has value.

  • Tyler Seguin embraced the change from sniper to two-way forward reports Dallas Morning-News beat writer Mike Heika. While many weren’t sure how he would react going from goal scorer to having to be more defensively conscious, Seguin couldn’t wait. Heika writes that the moves, however, created some problems for Hitchcock and Seguin. Calling him a “goal-scorer,” Hitchcock tweaked lines to get some of the early season magic back for Seguin. Pairing him with Jason Spezza on Friday night, Seguin responded with a hat trick in a 6-4 win over Calgary. Spezza moved to right wing and the gamble paid dividends as Seguin notched his first hat trick of the season. Though Alexander Radulov and Jamie Benn were the ideal linemates for Seguin, it was necessary for Hitchcock to keep the team balanced. Friday’s move is one that Hitchcock hopes can keep Seguin’s name on the score sheet consistently.
  • As the Oilers stumble through their first quarter of the season, Sportsnet’s Andrew Berkshire wonders if Connor McDavid is truly regressing defensively. Much has been made about Edmonton’s struggles to score goals outside of McDavid, and Berkshire writes that it’s splitting hairs picking on a player who is responsible for nearly 50% of the Oilers scoring. Instead, Berkshire takes the opposite approach, showing both graphically and through words that McDavid has actually been just fine this season–especially where he’s been criticized heavily when it comes to turnovers. A closer look reveals time lost due to penalties–which is a team-wide problem, as one of the culprits. Berkshire argues that a  32 second increase in penalty minutes and a three second decrease in power play time caused a drastic swing in performance for not only McDavid, but the entire team performance. A closer look at the problem, through the use of numbers, reveals that McDavid isn’t the problem at all.

Snapshots: Campbell, Wideman, McDavid

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The Los Angeles Kings acquired Torrey Mitchell earlier tonight in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens, but it’s not the only move they’ve made recently. Late last night the team signed goaltender Jack Campbell to a two-year, $1.35MM extension. The deal is two-way for 2018-19, but becomes a one-way contract in 2019-20.

Campbell has rediscovered his game after leaving the Dallas Stars organization, who originally selected him 11th-overall in 2010. He ran with the starting job for the Ontario Reign of the AHL last season, posting a .914 save percentage and has improved on that early in this season. The 25-year old was once considered one of the top goaltending prospects in the league and will continue to try and fight his way towards the NHL. Though Jonathan Quick is signed long-term, the Kings will have an opening to back him up after Darcy Kuemper’s deal expires this summer.

  • Dennis Wideman has returned to hockey, this time as an assistant coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. The Rangers, who are one of the most impressive teams in the league this season, are currently coached by former NHL defenseman (and Wideman teammate) Jay McKee. Wideman, a Kitchener native, was unable to secure a contract this summer after the Calgary Flames decided not to re-sign him. In 815 career NHL games, he had 387 points.
  • Connor McDavid has been playing through a serious illness according to Darren Dreger of TSN, who reports that the Edmonton Oilers captain has lost between five and ten pounds recently. Amazingly, McDavid has nine points in his last five games, the best stretch of the season so far for the reigning Hart Trophy winner. McDavid and the Oilers remain near the very bottom of the NHL standings, with just 18 points through 22 games.

Pacific Notes: Oilers, Theodore, Brodzinksi, Miller

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What has gone wrong with the Edmonton Oilers? After a 7-11-2 start to the season, fans have to wonder what is going on with their team who many expected to be competing for the top spot in the Western Conference. Instead, the team who has two of the top young franchise players in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are floundering.

Allan Mitchell of The Athletic (subscription required) details what has gone wrong for the storied franchise this year, pointing to the team’s success in achieving their goal of locking up both McDavid (eight years, $100MM) and Draisaitl (eight years, $68MM), but to their lack of success to bringing in more talent to help this squad. The scribe points out that while Jordan Eberle was moved to the New York Islanders for spare parts to solve cap issues, that deal could have been delayed a year as their cap problems weren’t going to be an issue until the 2018-19 season.

He also suggests that Edmonton general manager Peter Chiarelli took numerous gambles with few of them coming up gold so far this year. He put a lot of faith in youngsters ranging from Ryan Strome, Jesse Puljujarvi, Anton Slepyshev, Kailer Yamamoto, Matt Benning and Drake Caggiula, all of which haven’t worked out as expected, although Caggiula’s two-goal performance Saturday could change things if he can continue that success. Possibly. Regardless, the Oilers have no choice but to continue putting out their youth, hoping some of them might figure things out and assist a struggling squad.

  • Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen writes that Vegas Golden Knights’ defenseman Shea Theodore has needed more time than expected to adjust to the NHL game, despite playing a chunk of the season last year with the Anaheim Ducks. The scribe adds that after Theodore’s strong performance against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, he might be starting to turn the corner and become a key cog on Vegas’ defense.
  • Much of the Los Angeles Kings success has been in thanks to the team’s careful infusion of youth into their veteran lineup. The Los Angeles Times’ Curtis Zupke writes that Jonny Brodzinski scored his first NHL goal Saturday and is the fifth player to pick up their first NHL goal, including Kurtis MacDermid, Michael Amadio, Oscar Fantenberg, and Alex Iafallo. Much of the credit, according to Zupke goes to Ontario Reign coach Mike Strothers, who has worked hard to develop players who could work with the Kings’ quick-movement style of play.
  • Anaheim Ducks backup goaltender Ryan Miller, who has looked good in four appearances since being activated a couple of weeks ago, might miss more time. While the veteran goalie was on the ice this morning taking shots, Miller (lower-body injury) was unable to practice, according to the Orange County Register’s Eric Stephens. Coach Randy Carlyle hopes he might be available next week, but with five games in the next seven days, the team may have to consider starting Reto Berra.

Metropolitan Notes: Bailey, Hagelin, Stephenson

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The New York Islanders may have come out of last night’s performance with a loss, but it definitely didn’t feel like one. For one, the team’s offense, particularly the power play, seems to have hit its stride and the team finds itself putting up solid numbers. A lot of that credit goes to their top line of John Tavares and Anders Lee. However, it’s the third man on that line that deserves quite a bit of credit, according to Newsday’s Arthur Staple, who gives much of the line’s success to Josh Bailey.

Bailey has been the key to the team’s offensive firepower, especially on the power play and has helped fix that power play which started the NHL season at a 0-for-20. The scribe points out that while Tavares and Lee have combined for five of the team’s nine goals, all coming since their Oct. 19th game against the New York Rangers, it is Bailey’s passing work that has made the difference. The 28-year-old winger is among NHL leaders with six power play assists since then and has had nine assists in the last four games, giving him 13 assists this season. In fact, since the start of last year (the 2016-17 season), Bailey has racked up 56 assists and only 10 players in the NHL have more than him, including names like Connor McDavid, Erik Karlsson, Patrick Kane and Niklas Backstrom.

Unfortunately, for the Islanders while that’s great to see him taking that next step, its also another cause for concern as he is in the last year of a five-year, $16.5MM deal. He undoubtedly will expect a raise, likely a significant one and suddenly along with Tavares, the team will have their work cut out for them this offseason.

  • Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post Gazzette writes that Pittsburgh Penguins’ fourth-line wing Carl Hagelin is well aware that his offense needs to step up. The recently scratched wing has struggled this year offensively. While he’s never been an offensive juggernaut, the 29-year-old has struggled with just a goal and an assist in 14 games. Add that to the $4MM the team owes his this year and next year, his struggles even stand out more. Mackey writes that it’s his shooting percentage that has fallen off a cliff since last year. His 4.4 percent shooting percentage is way down from his earlier career averages of 9.4 percent.
  • Mike Vogel of NHL.com writes that the Washington Capitals’ line of Lars Eller, Tom Wilson and Chandler Stephenson is thriving in the three games that they’ve been paired together. Eller and Wilson have played together quite a while, but it has been the addition of Stephenson, who replaced the injured Brett Connolly that has made the difference in the line. The 23-year-old might finally be breaking into Washington’s lineup after only playing in 13 games combined in the last two years. So far, his one goal and two assists in four games looks solid. In the three games, the Eller-Wilson-Stephenson line has posted three goals and eight points, the most of all the Capitals lines. The success of the back-end line is welcome since the top six lines have struggled recently.

 

Keeping An Eye On Entry-Level Slides: An Update

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Two weeks ago we ran an article looking at the young players in the NHL who were also eligible to see their contracts slide by one year. Should they be sent back to their junior or European clubs before playing in 10 NHL games, they would avoid burning the first year of their entry-level contracts.

At the time, none of the players eligible had surpassed that threshold. Today is a different story. Three players have already played their 10th game in the NHL, changing the goalposts somewhat for their respective teams. Now, those clubs must decide whether or not to keep them past the next threshold of 40 games, when they’ll get a year closer to unrestricted free agency. Below, we’ll take an updated look at the entire group.

10+ Games Played

Mikhail Sergachev (TBL)
Victor Mete (MTL)
Alex DeBrincat (CHI)

Each of these three seemed to have a good shot at staying with their respective teams right from the start, but now the most interesting thing to watch will be that 40 game mark. For Sergachev especially it holds quite a bit of value. Due to a condition on the trade that brought him to Tampa Bay, if he fails to play 40 games this season the Montreal Canadiens would have to send a second-round draft pick (Montreal would also receive a sixth-round pick in return). That extra asset could be tantalizing for the Lightning, but with Sergachev’s outstanding start—the young defenseman has 10 points in 11 games—it may not be worth sending him away from the team.

8-9 Games Played

Pierre-Luc Dubois (CBJ)
Nico Hischier (NJD)
Jesper Bratt (NJD)
Nolan Patrick (PHI)

All four of these players seem destined to play past the nine game threshold, with Dubois set to play his tenth game tonight, and Patrick only sitting out due to injury this week. Bratt and Hischier have played in all eight of New Jersey’s games, combining for 13 points. Their strong early play will likely keep them in New Jersey for the year.

Interestingly, Dubois has lasted in the Columbus lineup despite registering just one point all season. He’s not being sent back before tonight’s game, but it will be interesting to see how the season plays out. He’s not struggling with the pace of play, but hasn’t received the opportunity to really show what his offensive ceiling is. Should Columbus face more injuries, Dubois could be thrust into a more important role.

5-7 Games Played

Kailer Yamamoto (EDM)

Yamamoto is one of the most interesting cases, because though he’s played seven games with the club and at times been one of the ice-time leaders beside Connor McDavid, he was scratched last night against the Dallas Stars. As Leon Draisaitl and Drake Caggiula came back, there seemingly wasn’t a spot left for Yamamoto in the top nine.

The diminutive forward has three points through his seven contests, but isn’t a lock to stay past nine games if the Oilers feel he still needs some more development. Though he obviously has the skill to play at this level, if they’re not going to play him every night his path may lie back in the WHL. That would certainly change the fate for the Spokane Chiefs, his junior team, who are currently 8-6-1 on the season.

1-4 Games Played

Owen Tippett (FLA)
Janne Kuokkanen (CAR)
Samuel Girard (NSH)

Tippett finally worked his way into the lineup for Florida, and the early results suggest he could stay there all year. The winger from the Mississauga Steelheads scored his first goal last night, and could find himself getting more ice time as the Panthers try to dig their way out of a rough start. By no means is he guaranteed, but the team has hinted that he would stay in the NHL right away since the start of training camp.

Kuokkanen started off hot for the Hurricanes in limited minutes, but has been relegated to the press box for the team’s last five games. As we wrote in the previous article, the Hurricanes could actually send him to the AHL instead of back to junior, meaning he could bounce up and down this season.

Girard has certainly impressed in the three games he’s played, but none of those have come in the team’s last four. He may be back in the lineup tonight however when the team takes on the Chicago Blackhawks, and if he keeps up his high level of play they may have no choice but to keep him around. Still, it’s always tough for a 19-year old defender to stick in the NHL and especially one that is just 162-lbs. He’ll have to show beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s ready to be a contributor to this team all season.

No Longer On Roster

Logan Brown (OTT)
Filip Chytil (NYR)
Alex Formenton (OTT)
Martin Necas (CAR)

All four made their NHL debuts, but were eventually sent back before breaking the first threshold. Only Chytil remains in the North American professional ranks, currently playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL.

Pacific Notes: McDavid, Sutter, Boeser, Kempe

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Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid rejected the idea outright. Without blinking, the young superstar made it very clear that scoring 100 goals is impossible. Just days ago, Jaromir Jagr predicted that McDavid could score 100 goals someday, but McDavid would have none of that., according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.

“It’s not possible at all … no one’s ever done it,” said the 20-year-old McDavid, who scored 30 goals a year ago. “Not going to happen.”

The closest anyone has ever come was by Wayne Gretzky, who scored 92 goals in the 1981-82 season. Gretzky also had 87 goals in 1983-84. Alex Ovechkin, who has seven goals in the Capitals first two games might have a better shot at it than McDavid. However, the 32-year-old’s best season was 65 goals in 2007-08.

  • In the same article, Matheson pointed out that McDavid played his first game without taking a faceoff in Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. The center yielded to linemate Leon Draisaitl, who is a better faceoff specialist, having won 49 percent of his faceoffs (out of 972 attempts) in the 2016-17 season, while McDavid won just 43 percent (806 attempts). “People know that I’m not that good on faceoffs,” McDavid said. “It’s one of the perks of having Leon on the line.”
  • Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Sun writes that a lot of the credit that goes towards the Canucks 3-2 victory Saturday was the play of Brandon Sutter. The 28-year-old center and his line of Markus Granlund and Derek Dorsett shutdown McDavid, who didn’t register a point in the game and finished with a plus/minus of -1 in 24:38 of ice time.
  • In the same article, Botchford writes that the public outcry that top prospect Brock Boeser was scratched due to the team focusing more on shutting down Edmonton’s offense. “I know it’s a hot topic,” Vancouver head coach Travis Green said. “He’s going to play. He’s going to get his chance. We set our lineup against a very strong Edmonton team. He’s not going to sit here for a month.”
  • Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times writes that Los Angeles Kings’ Adrian Kempe’s role on the forward line is already beginning to diminish. The former 2014 first-round pick only played two shifts in the third period for the second straight game and it looks like Alex Iafallo has taken his place on the second line of the power play. Kempe has struggled to break through as a wing on the professional level. He scored 12 goals in 46 games for the Ontario Reign of the AHL last year and scored just two goals for the Kings in 25 games.

 

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Edmonton Oilers

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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 2017-18 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.

Edmonton Oilers

Current Cap Hit: $65,647,000 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Matt Benning (One year remaining, $925K)
F Drake Caggiula (One year remaining, $925K)
F Connor McDavid (One year remaining, $925K)
F Jesse Puljujarvi (Two years remaining, $925K)
F Anton Slepyshev (One year remaining, $925K)
F Kailer Yamamoto (Three years remaining, $925K)
D Darnell Nurse (One year remaining, $863K)

Potential Bonuses

McDavid: $2.85MM
Puljujarvi: $2.5MM
Nurse: $850K
Slepyshev: $600K
Caggiula: $425K
Benning: $300K
Yamamoto: $230K

Total: $7.755MM

Believe it or not, McDavid is still on the list as the Art Ross Trophy winner, Hart Memorial Trophy winner, and Ted Lindsay Award winner is on the last year of his entry-level deal. McDavid will also be listed later in the story under four year and more as McDavid signed his eight year, $100MM extension this summer and will be locked up long term regardless. More on him later …

The Oilers have high expectations for both Benning and Nurse to take that next step. With injuries mounting, both should be vaulted into bigger roles than they were last year. The 23-year-old Benning played in 62 games last year and played solidly while filling in for injured players. The 22-year-old Nurse also had a solid showing in 44 games this year. Both may be asked to jump onto top-four pairings on defense throughout the year.

Slepyshev, who suffered an ankle injury in the offseason looks close to being ready. He had 10 points in 41 games a year ago, but also scored three goals in the playoffs for Edmonton last year and many feel the 23-year-old is ready to take that next step. Caggiula, a big college player from the University of North Dakota, had seven goals and 18 points in 60 games a year ago in his first year with Edmonton and is also thought to be a player ready to make a jump.

Both Yamamoto and Puljujarvi (Edmonton’s 2017 and 2016 first-round picks, respectively) went head-to-head and battled it out for a final roster spot this training camp with Yamamoto getting the edge and Puljujarvi getting sent to Bakersfield, but don’t be surprised if Puljujarvi is back up at some point during the season.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Mark Fayne ($2.6MM, UFA – team saved $1.025MM in cap relief by sending him to AHL)
F Ryan Strome ($2.5MM, RFA)
F Mark Letestu ($1.8MM, UFA)
F Patrick Maroon ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Jussi Jokinen ($1.1MM, UFA)
G Laurent Brossoit ($750K, RFA)
F Iiro Pakarinen ($725K, RFA)

Connor McDavidPerhaps the most interesting player the team must focus on will be Maroon, who had a breakout year playing next to McDavid. The 29-year-old wing scored 27 goals and has proven to be one guy who seems to play well next to McDavid. He is a presence in front of the net and a physical force for the team.

Letestu, is another player the team will have to consider. Likely to be the team’s fourth-line center, Letestu put up 16 goals last year, although that was a career high and he’s already 32 years old. Jokinen, who signed a one-year deal this offseason, put up 11 goals last year in Florida, but at 34 years old is likely not a priority to the team.

As for restricted free agents, the team will take a long look at Strome, who the team acquired in the Jordan Eberle deal. The 24-year-old center has had an inconsistent career with the New York Islanders, but put up 13 goals and 30 points last year. The Oilers hope he can keep improving on those numbers. Brossoit will get his first chance to be Talbot’s backup. The 24-year-old looked promising in eight appearances last year.

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Snapshots: McDavid, Polak, Dotchin

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Connor McDavid has taken over the top spot on TSN’s yearly player rankings, after an incredible eight-year run by Sidney Crosby. McDavid still only edged the former #1 for the top spot, but will try to start a run of his own this year. Several other players made huge jumps, including Nikita Kucherov who jumped from 27 to 7, and Mark Scheifele who improved 35 spots to crack the top 15.

Two top-10 stalwarts in Alex Ovechkin and Jonathan Toews both plummeted down the rankings after disappointing seasons, but could easily see a resurgence should they should it was more an anomaly than a trend. Check out the entire list, then leave below what you think should have been different.

  • Roman Polak won’t play tomorrow night for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but according to head coach Mike Babcock (via James Mirtle of The Athletic) he’s making progress and should still get in before the season begins. Polak is technically on a professional tryout with the team, but it does seem like he would be signed by the team should he show that he’s completely healthy after the terrible injury last year. The Maple Leafs already have several players competing for the last few defensive spots, but none of them save for Connor Carrick are right-handed. Since the Maple Leafs are already going with three lefties in their top-4, having a right-handed option like Polak in a depth role seems prudent, even if he’s not an exciting option.
  • Jake Dotchin still hasn’t gotten into any preseason action for violating a team issue, and he told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that “it’s hurting” him. Dotchin was widely expected to start the year in an increased role with the Lightning after an impressive rookie campaign, but every day he sits out is another chance for someone else to make an impression. The young defender has been known to cross the line physically while on the ice, and though there is no report on what he did yet the team is clearly not happy with him.

Afternoon Notes: McDavid, Draisaitl, Letang

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The Edmonton Oilers will continue to try to experiment with the lines and their two stars in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who have previously played together. However, many feel that the two young stars should be separated with the idea of eventually having two elite lines instead of the one. McDavid, who put up 100 points (including 70 assists) last year, should still be able to produce big numbers without Draisaitl, who has been playing wing up until now. Even as a wing, Draisaitl put up 48 assists of his own. But who could take the place of Draisaitl on that number one line? McDavid and Patrick Maroon have several options, according to The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell.

The scribe writes (subscription required) that there are a number of candidates that could fill that role and many questions will obviously be answered in training camp. Regardless, he lists Drake Caggiula as the top candidate for that first line. The 23-year-old forward is coming off his rookie year in which he played 60 games, scoring seven goals and 18 points on the season. However, Mitchell writes that Caggiula and McDavid had some chemistry in the time they played together and might be the best fit. He adds that Caggiula struggled through injuries early in his rookie year and the real player may not have been evident until late in the year. It’s true, he did put up three goals in 13 playoff games for Edmonton, so the former University of North Dakota star might surprise many this coming year if he gets the job.

While Mitchell lists eight candidates, it’s quite obvious that Edmonton is as clueless as anyone so far about what will happen. One of those eight candidates is Draisaitl himself, who Mitchell believes will be thrown back onto that first line the moment that McDavid’s line struggles. This may not be the year for Edmonton to make this change. One sleeper that should be considered is the team’s top pick in this year’s draft, Kailer Yamamoto. The 22nd overall pick in the draft is considered to be a high volume shooter, and his speed and talent may work perfectly with McDavid, but at 18 years of age, 5-foot-8 and 153 pounds, the youngster might need another year of development before leaping onto the Oilers’ number one line.

  • Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said that he did not ask defenseman Kris Letang to change to a more conservative style of hockey, writes Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Sullivan says that he asked him to use better judgement while playing. Letang has missed a lot of time over his career due to his often reckless play and managed to only play in 41 games last year when he needed surgery on his neck and missed the team’s championship run in the playoffs. “There might be an assumption that we’re trying to change the way “Tanger” plays the game. That’s not what the message has been to Kris,” Sullivan said. “It’s been more about making more calculated decisions on when there simply isn’t a play to be made.”

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