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Salary Cap Deep Dive: Montreal Canadiens

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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.

Montreal Canadiens

Current Cap Hit: $71,687,975 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Jesperi Kotkaniemi (three years, $925K)
F Nikita Scherbak (one year, $863K)
D Noah Juulsen (two years, $863K)
F Artturi Lehkonen (one year, $839K)
D Victor Mete (two years, $748K)

Potential Bonuses:

Kotkaniemi: $2.5MM
Juulsen: $425K
Mete: $183K
Scherbak: $175K

Total: $3.28MM

It’s too early to tell if the Canadiens intend to thrust Kotkaniemi onto an NHL roster. Most people feel that the third-overall pick from this year’s draft still needs another year to get bigger and develop his skills, but Montreal is desperate for help at the center position and could consider the 18-year-old to make the leap. Regardless, whether he comes to the NHL now of in the near future, the team does have a franchise center they can look forward to placing into the top-six soon.

Mete had a turbulent rookie season after surprising many by making the team out of training camp. The 20-year-old was brought in to complement Weber due to his speed and puckhandling skills, but he struggled at times and eventually was moved out of the top four and was almost sent back to juniors. In the end, the youngster played 49 games, but with a year of experience under his belt, he is expected to take on a top-four role this season. Juulsen is another solid prospect who should get some time, although more likely in a third-pairing situation.

Scherbak could be the most interesting player. The 22-year-old was a point-a-game player with the Laval Rocket in the AHL, but when recalled to Montreal, he was immediately injured and wasn’t able to capitalize on his opportunity. Scherbak didn’t get the minutes once he returned, scoring four goals in 26 games. However, he might get a chance to gain a regular role this year if he can make a strong impression in camp this year.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Max Pacioretty ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Tomas Plekanec ($2.25MM, UFA)
F Joel Armia ($1.85MM, RFA)
F Paul Byron ($1.17MM, UFA)
D Jordie Benn ($1.1MM, UFA)
G Antti Niemi ($950K, UFA)
D Mike Reilly ($725K, RFA)
D Xavier Ouellet ($700K, RFA)
F Charles Hudon ($650K, UFA)

Much has been said about Pacioretty over the past few months and even in the past week, but as of now, it looks like the 29-year-old is going to end up back on the first line, barring a trade. The team captain is coming off a disappointing 17-goal season after five straight years of 30-goal campaigns (not including the strike-shortened season in 2012-13). The team will have to determine whether they believe last year’s season was a fluke or whether he’s beginning to decline. The team has already committed to several major contracts and adding another one could be detrimental to a team who should rebuild. If he can prove his value with a bounce back season, the team may look to lock him up.

The 35-year-old Plekanec returns after the team traded him away at the trade deadline. He lacks the offense from the old days, but Plekanec still provides an excellent presence as a bottom-six center who has the experience and solid face-off skills, although his six goals and 20 assists is a career low. Byron is coming off a pair of 20-goal seasons for the Canadiens, but is expected to miss part of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in April. However, the 29-year-old has to prove that he can continue his goal-scoring ways.

The team hopes to get a boost from Armia, who came over when the Canadiens took on Steve Mason’s contract from Winnipeg. The 25-year-old got a full season in with a loaded Jets roster and tallied 12 goals and 29 points. With a bigger role in Montreal, he could become a solid 20-goal scorer. The remainder of players will have to prove their value if they want to come back.

Two Years Remaining

F Max Domi ($3.15MM, RFA)
D David Schlemko ($2.1MM, UFA)
F Matthew Peca ($1.3MM, UFA)
F Nicolas Deslauriers ($950K, UFA)
F Jacob de La Rose ($900, UFA)

The Canadiens gave up a quality player in Alex Galchenyuk in order to acquire Domi. The highly-touted winger has struggled in the NHL over the past couple of years and it probably isn’t a good sign that the Arizona Coyotes gave up on the 23-year-old already, suggesting they didn’t feel that he was going to contribute to their team this year. After a impressive rookie season in which he scored 18 goals and 52 points, he has failed to break double-digits in goals in each of the past two seasons since then. Regardless, Montreal is ready to hand him top-six minutes to prove his value and show that he’s better than Arizona thought he was.

Schlemko provides the team with another depth defenseman, but likely isn’t going to play top-four minutes for the team, while the team has high hopes that Deslauriers can duplicate a 10-goal season on the team’s energy line.

Three Years Remaining

D Jeff Petry ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Brendan Gallagher ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Phillip Danault ($3.08MM, UFA)
G Charlie Lindgren ($750K, UFA)

While many players had down years, Gallagher was the bright spot for the Canadiens as the 26-year-old broke the 30-goal mark last season for the first time and has established himself as top right wing on the team. It was a big improvement from his injury-riddled 10-goal campaign the previous year. Suddenly, at $3.75MM over the next three years, his contract is likely the best value on the team. The team also gave Danault a solid three-year extension. The 25-year-old only had eight goals and 25 points, but would be a more ideal third-line center. Unfortunately, with a hole at the second-line center, Danault has been thrust into a role he wasn’t ready for. We’ll see if he can handle that same role this season.

The team is paying a lot of money for Petry, who is one of the team’s most experienced defenseman with the injury to Weber, and the veteran should be able to handle the No. 1 duties for the time being. The 30-year-old blueliner showed off some offensive skills last year, posting a career-high 12 goals and 42 points.

Four Or More Years Remaining

G Carey Price ($10.5MM through 2025-26)
D Shea Weber ($7.86MM through 2025-26)
F Jonathan Drouin ($5.5MM through 2022-23)
D Karl Alzner ($4.63MM through 2021-22)
F Andrew Shaw ($3.9MM through 2021-22)

The timing of Price’s poor season could have been better after the team extended the netminder last offseason. Now after a major drop off in performance after many felt he was the best goaltender in the world, the $10.5MM deal that kicks in this season, suddenly looks quite undesirable. After a season in which he posted a 2.23 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 62 games, Price struggled with injuries and struggled all year behind Montreal’s weakened blueline. He put up a 3.11 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 49 games. The question is which Price will come back this year? If he can bounce back and perform even close to his 2016-17 statistics, that contract wouldn’t look to be quite as bad.

Unfortunately, Weber’s contract is another story. The 33-year-old blueliner still has eight years left on his contract, only managed to play 26 games last season after he was forced to undergo surgery on a torn tendon in his foot and now is expected to miss a large chunk of the season with the possibility of returning in mid-December. While a dominant defenseman when healthy, one has to wonder whether a major foot injury may alter the impact that Weber makes for the rest of his career, considering his advancing age and the way that speed has taken the league over recently. Whether the team can keep him on the ice for another year or two, let alone eight, will be something to closely monitor.

The team has high expectations will be able to bounce back after his struggles to adapt to the center position. Drouin will continue to play there this season and with a full season of experience and a chance to train there in the preseason, Drouin should be much more comfortable, centering the team’s top line. The third-overall pick from the 2013 draft, Drouin has all the talent to make the adjustment and give the team a top-six center. However, his numbers took a hit with the change in positions as he managed just 13 goals and 46 points on the year. The team also has high expectations that Alzner, the team’s big free-agent signing a year ago, will bounce back as well. The veteran defenseman had trouble getting integrated with his new team as well as having to deal with the expectations that came with the contract he signed. However, with a year of experience, he should be able to settle into top-four role this season.

Buyouts

G Mason ($1.37MM through 2019-20)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Gallagher
Worst Value: Weber

(Excluding entry-level contracts)

Looking Ahead

The team has all the contracts of a team trying to rebuild with youth. Unfortunately, it also has two contracts that are going to weigh down the franchise for eight more years, which is a long time, especially when some of the young players begin to develop and will need new contracts of their own. While the contract of Price might not seem as bad if the veteran goaltender can rebound, it’s likely that Weber’s deal will be a major albatross and it’s way too early to even consider trading that contract or buying it out. Regardless, the team needs to rebuild despite their strange salary cap situation. The addition of Kotkaniemi, regardless of when he arrives to the team, is a start to the rebuild, even if the team won’t acknowledge that’s what they’re doing.

Montreal Holds Several Deadline Chips If Season Goes Poorly

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The Montreal Canadiens have been in the news on a daily basis recently, given the situation surrounding captain Max Pacioretty. The 29-year old winger is heading into the final season of his current contract and apparently hasn’t been offered an extension by the Canadiens. Reports of a previous trade request have surfaced along with confirmation that the Canadiens had a deal worked out with the Los Angeles Kings at the draft, leading many to believe that there will be a split before the season begins.

If there isn’t though, and Pacioretty laces up his skates at training camp and to begin the season—something he is expected to do with or without a contract extension—he’ll still be considered one of the biggest names on the trade market during the year. As the deadline next February approaches, Pacioretty’s name would be brought up again and again due to his relatively low cap hit and still capable offensive game. But there is more in Montreal than just Pacioretty when it comes to trade chips.

By all accounts, the Canadiens front office is hoping—even expecting—a rebound from their disappointing 2017-18 campaign. A healthy Carey Price would go a long way to that goal, especially given Shea Weber’s ongoing struggles. Weber underwent surgery in June to repair the meniscus in his knee, and is expected to be out until December. The team got a taste of what their defensive group was capable of without Weber last season, and could struggle once again this year. If they do, and Price can’t return to his Vezina form to bail them out of it, the season could be lost once again.

If the deadline approaches and Montreal is out of it, they stand ready another incredible asset. Paul Byron, who is also coming back from surgery this offseason, is another player heading into the final season of his current contract and scheduled for unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2019. The different between Byron and many of the other assets that could be on the market though is his ridiculously low cap hit. At just $1.167MM, Byron has been one of the leagues biggest bargains the last two seasons and will likely get a chance to perform once again in 2017-18. The fact that his actual salary is even lower—just $1MM this season—makes him one of the most attractive assets that could be available.

To many, Byron may not seem like as notable an addition as someone like Pacioretty. But looking at the potential names available at the deadline, few can match Byron in terms of even strength goal scoring. Over the last two seasons Byron has tallied 38 goals at even strength, more than incredible talents like Phil Kessel, Jack Eichel, Leon Draisaitl, Johnny Gaudreau, Anze Kopitar, and yes, even Pacioretty. He’s done that scoring despite averaging fewer than 13 minutes of even strength time per night and playing several different positions and with different linemates.

In fact, there may be a case to be made that Byron is a better asset than Pacioretty at the deadline given his versatility. Byron averaged almost two minutes of short handed time last season, and was arguably the Canadiens best penalty killer. A team looking for help during a Stanley Cup run will strongly consider the Montreal forward if made available. That’s not guaranteed though, as Montreal could still offer Byron an extension in the coming months instead.

There are others too, including Tomas Plekanec, Jordie Benn and David Schlemko that could all bring back a potential return at the deadline. Schlemko is signed for two seasons, but the former two are both inked for just one year and could be worthwhile depth additions at the deadline.

If the Canadiens find themselves out of the picture partway through the season, there’s no reason to hang onto their expiring assets. Luckily, they still carry enough value to allow a team that should be considering a real rebuild to cash in on their final days. It’s newsworthy times in Montreal right now, but could be again a few months down the line.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Atlantic Notes: Pope, Bruins, Schlemko

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The Red Wings have put a hold on contract talks with college winger David Pope, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.  The 23-year-old recently wrapped up his NCAA career with the University of Nebraska-Omaha with a 20-goal season but has informed the team that he would like to finish up his classes before discussing a contract.  Pope was a fourth-round selection of Detroit (109th overall) back in 2013 and will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent if he does not sign by August 15th.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • The Bruins are set to get some good news on the injury front as the team announced that winger Jake DeBrusk will return to the lineup on Saturday night after missing the last eight games with an upper-body injury. Meanwhile, blueliners Zdeno Chara (upper-body) and Charlie McAvoy (MCL sprain) have been ruled out for Saturday but could return on Sunday afternoon.  With Boston looking to lock down the top spot in the East (and home ice for the first three rounds of the postseason), these returns will certainly come at a welcome time.
  • Montreal could have blueliner David Schlemko back in their lineup tomorrow night against the Penguins after receiving the green light from doctors to return from his upper-body injury, notes Matt Cudzinowski on the Canadiens’ team website. The veteran has been out of the lineup for the past 12 games and has suited up just 34 times this season due to various injuries.  If he does play, the team will either have to return blueliner Brett Lernout to Laval (AHL) or convert his emergency recall into a regular one that will count against their limit of four between the trade deadline and the end of the regular season.

Golden Knights Recall Jason Garrison

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When the Vegas Golden Knights selected 13 veteran defenseman in the NHL Expansion Draft this past June, traded for Shea Theodore, and signed Brad Hunt, it was clear that moves would need to be made to handle their overage on the blue line. Yet, even after trading away Marc Methot, Trevor van Riemsdyk, David Schlemko, and Alexei Emelin soon after selecting them, it still left the NHL’s newest team with a log jam on the back end. The long-term injury status of Clayton Stoner also helped the cause, but by the end of October, the team was faced with no options remaining but to waive Griffin Reinhart and, more surprisingly, Jason Garrison. Both players cleared waivers and were assigned to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, where they have remained since.

However, Garrison is finally getting the chance to return to the NHL ranks. The Knights announced today that they have recalled Garrison from the Wolves. With Jonathon Merrill and Luca Sbisa both sidelined with injuries, Vegas is in need of some added depth on the blue line for the first time this season. The Expansion Draft pick from the Lightning is expected to join the team on their current road trip in Tampa and could make his return against his former team. A veteran of over 500 NHL games, Garrison was once a formidable defender, though his play has slipped as his age has climbed. Nevertheless, few would have expected the 33-year-old to have just four NHL games under his belt in 2017-18 versus 31 games logged in the AHL.

While Garrison cleared waivers earlier this season, the Knights do face some risk by calling him back up to the big league squad. If Garrison stays on the roster for less than 30 days or plays in less than 10 games, he can safely be returned to the AHL. However, should Garrison exceed either of those limits, he would need to be passed through waivers again if the Knights want to demote him prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. If Garrison performs admirably in that short stint, he could prove to be a tempting option for another contender to grab on waivers. Thus, Vegas faces a situation where they either want to return Garrison to the minors as soon as possible or ensure he stays on the roster until the Trade Deadline has come and gone.

Minor Transactions: 12/27/17

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As the NHL gets back to its regularly scheduled programming today, league rosters will start to thaw after the holiday season. At 12:00am on December 28th, teams will be once again allowed to trade, waive and loan any player on the active roster. For now, we’ll have to make do with recalls from the minor leagues.

Victor Mete Sent To World Junior Selection Camp

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With Victor Mete not playing regularly for the Montreal Canadiens, the team has decided to allow him to attend Team Canada’s World Junior selection camp. Mete has played 27 games for the Canadiens this season, but has recently been a healthy scratch and hasn’t seen the ice time he had earlier in the year.

Though nothing is guaranteed just yet, it would be surprising to see the team not take Mete with them to Buffalo and the tournament. His versatility and experience in the NHL makes him a perfect compliment to an already healthy blue line group, and he should play a big role in the tournament. The Canadiens will have another decision afterwards, as Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports they still don’t know what they’ll do with Mete for the rest of the season.

They could bring him back to the NHL or send him to the junior ranks, where the young defender would rejoin the London Knights in their pursuit of a Memorial Cup. Mete has burned the first year of his entry-level contract already, but is no closer to unrestricted free agency. He’d need to remain on the active roster for an additional nine games for this season to count towards his UFA status, something that the Canadiens will have to factor into their decision post-tournament.

As for Tyson Jost, who was expected to be sent to Team Canada last week, Michael Traikos of Postmedia has bleaker news. Traikos reports that Jost, Samuel Girard and Nolan Patrick are all likely off the table for Canada, though there is always an outside shot until the roster is actually named.

Injury Notes: Bruins, Rakell, Weber, Wennberg, Sutter

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The Boston Bruins injury list keeps growing as the team is dealing with injuries to Brad Marchand, Anders Bjork, Ryan Spooner and Peter Cehlarik. However, the one good piece of news is that forward David Backes, who underwent surgery to have a piece of his colon removed on Nov. 1, has already been cleared for contact in practice, according to NBC Sports Joe Haggerty.

Originally estimated to be out for eight weeks, putting the timetable to early January, Backes has already been skating with the Bruins for a week and could be returning sooner than expected.

The other news isn’t as good, according to Haggerty, who says that Marchand will miss today’s game against the Edmonton Oilers and was still sporting a non-contact sweater in practice Saturday. Bjork is expected to miss another week with an upper-body injury, while neither Spooner or Cehalrik practiced Saturday. The scribe says only Spooner has a chance to play today.

  • Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register tweets that Anaheim Ducks center Rickard Rakell, who didn’t play in Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings due to an upper-body injury, won’t travel with the team starts their road trip. Stephens adds that coach Randy Carlyle was vague about when Rakell would return to the team.
  • Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber, who has missed the past three games lower-body injury, missed practice today, according to the Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan. Instead, the veteran defenseman opted for therapy. He remains day-to-day as Montreal hosts Columbus on Monday.
  • Cowan also reports that defenseman David Schlemko, who is on a condidtioning stint with the Laval Rocket of the AHL, was practicing with the Canadiens today, suggesting a return could be near.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets center Alexander Wennberg, who has been out with an upper-body injury since Nov. 11, participated in practice fully today and is expected to travel with the team for Monday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline.
  • Vancouver Canucks center Brandon Sutter, who is expected to miss today’s game against the New York Rangers, is more than just “day-to-day,” according to Canucks head coach Travis Green. The coach adds that it’s nothing too serious, but in his place Alexander Burmistrov will fill in for him while he is out.
  • Dallas Morning News’ Mike Heika reports that defenseman Stephen Johns, who was suffered an upper-body injury in Friday’s game against the Calgary Flames, skated today and is expected to be ready for Tuesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Minor Transactions: 11/24/17

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With no games on the schedule on Thursday, Friday is a busy day in the NHL with all but three teams in action.  Here’s where we’ll keep tabs on today’s minor roster moves.

  • The Anaheim Ducks announced they have assigned defenseman Jaycob Megna and goaltender Reto Berra to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. Megna, who was placed on waivers Thursday and cleared this morning, will indeed, be sent to the Gulls. Now that Cam Fowler was healthy, the team had to make a move to reduce their number of defensemen. Berra will also return to San Diego as backup Ryan Miller is expected to return after being out for the past week with a lower-body injury. The team didn’t have to put Berra on waivers as the goaltender had been placed on waivers on Nov. 4 and cleared. Since he wasn’t up for 10 games or 30 days, he doesn’t have to pass through waivers again.
  • The Vancouver Canucks announced they have reassigned defenseman Philip Holm to the Utica Comets of the AHL. The 25-year-old defenseman was recalled on Monday, but did not see any action. Holm has two goals and eight assists in 15 games for Utica. He was sent down after the team activated defenseman Troy Stecher off injured reserve.
  • Dallas Stars prospect Nick Caamano has been dealt from the Flint Firebirds to the Hamilton Bulldogs tweets NHL.com’s Sean Shapiro. Caamano has 21 points in 23 games and was highlighted during training camp as a player who continues to rise through the organization. Within that article, The Dallas Morning-News’ Mike Heika writes that he would return to Flint “as a face” to specifically sell Firebird hockey. Now, he’s off to Hamilton where he will be reunited with former Flint coach John Gruden.

Earlier updates:

  • The Capitals announced that they have recalled center Tyler Graovac from his long-term conditioning loan with Hershey of the AHL. He got into four games with the Bears during that stretch, recording a goal and an assist.  Those loans typically only last three games but Graovac agreed to the extension.  The 24-year-old played in three games with Washington early in the season before suffering an upper-body injury back on October 17th.
  • Buffalo has reassigned defenseman Casey Nelson to AHL Rochester per a team release. That suggests that Rasmus Ristolainen is ready to return to the lineup after missing the last three weeks with an upper-body issue.  While Nelson was recalled back on November 16th, he didn’t get into any action with the Sabres.  In 14 minor league games this season, he has a goal and three assists.
  • Tampa Bay has recalled forward Cory Conacher according to an announcement from their AHL team in Syracuse. Conacher leads the Crunch in scoring this season with 13 points (6-7-13) in 17 games.  While this will be his first NHL stint in 2017-18, the 27-year-old did relatively well in his NHL action with the Lightning last year when he recorded a goal and three helpers in 11 contests.  GM Steve Yzerman told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link) that a couple of forwards are dealing with minor injuries so Conacher’s recall is insurance as the team heads into back-to-back games.
  • Calgary has brought up goaltender David Rittich from Stockton of the AHL, reports Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun (Twitter link). The Flames were expected to bring up a goaltender following their decision to waive Eddie Lack on Thursday.  The 25-year-old is off to a solid start with the Heat, posting a 2.17 GAA and a .931 SV% in six minor league appearances so far this season.
  • The Canadiens announced that they have assigned defenseman David Schlemko to Laval of the AHL on a conditioning stint.  This marks the second time this season that this has happened; he played in one game the first time and then went back on injured reserve with the same hand injury.  He has yet to play in Montreal after being acquired from Vegas shortly after the Expansion Draft.

Snapshots: Schlemko, Wild, Aulie

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David Schlemko’s career with the Montreal Canadiens is off to an inauspicious start to say the least. After suffering a hand injury in training camp, Schlemko worked his way back and played in a conditioning game with the Laval Rocket before immediately being recalled to the NHL team. That game, or something afterwards, must have re-aggravated the injury, as the team today announced that the defenseman had undergone surgery to remove a bone fragment and would be out three to four weeks.

The Canadiens have already released Mark Streit after he couldn’t find a way into the lineup, meaning Victor Mete seems here to stay for good. The 19-year old defensman has performed admirably in his short stint, and will burn a year of his entry-level contract after he plays in another four games. With Schlemko unavailable for another few weeks, Mete will be needed more than ever.

  • The Minnesota Wild have recalled Landon Ferraro, Luke Kunin and Zack Mitchell ahead of their upcoming road trip. The Wild has been dealing with several injuries to their key forwards, and will have to rely on youth to get them through the next couple of games. The team will have to retroactively move some players to injured reserve to make room, but since Mikael Granlund hasn’t played since the opening night of the season, and Zach Parise hasn’t suited up at all, it shouldn’t be a problem. The team is 1-1-2 in what was supposed to be a contending season, but just can’t seem to get their best players on the ice.
  • Veteran NHL defenseman Keith Aulie has found a home for the time being, signing a professional tryout with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. Aulie, who has suited up for 167 career NHL games with three different franchises, split last season between the Stockton Heat and Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. As surprising as it may seem, Aulie could have an outside shot at making the Canadian Olympic squad given his NHL and European experience. The 6’6″ defender was once considered an up-and-comer with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but never could quite turn his huge frame into a consistent defender.

Defensive Notes: Karlsson, Nemeth, Schlemko

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The Ottawa Senators will welcome back their captain and best player tomorrow night against the Vancouver Canucks, according to head coach Guy Boucher (via Ian Mendes of TSN). That’s a huge step for the Senators, though they haven’t seemed to need it yet. Ottawa is still undefeated in regulation, and have won their last two games with a combined score of 12-1.

Still, Karlsson is among the top handful of players in the league and will really stabilize a defense corps that has had some moving parts throughout the first few games. Nine different defensemen have already suited up for at least one game, with a ton of responsibility being heaped on the trio of Dion Phaneuf, Cody Ceci and Fredrik Claesson. Each of them are averaging at least 21 minutes a night, something that will likely change with as Karlsson gets his legs under him. Last year the captain averaged almost 27 minutes while finishing second in Norris voting.

  • Patrik Nemeth has left the Colorado Avalanche on their road trip and flown back to Denver for more tests according to Adrian Dater of BSN Denver. Nemeth suffered a shoulder injury while fighting former teammate Tyler Seguin in a game on Saturday night. Nemeth, who was claimed off waivers just before the season started, has been one of the Avalanche’s best defensemen in the early going.
  • David Schlemko was expected back in the Montreal lineup this week, but is not with the team in San Jose according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The Canadiens take on the Sharks tomorrow night and then will head to Anaheim and Los Angeles before returning home. The 30-year old played one game on a conditioning stint in Laval and was immediately recalled to the team, but still hasn’t suited up for the Canadiens this season.

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