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John Tavares

Poll: Which Top Name Would You Rather Spend Free Agent Money On?

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John Tavares is still a pending unrestricted free agent. Every team in the NHL is keeping an eye on that situation, eager to know whether free agency will get its biggest star in quite some time (perhaps ever) when the calendar turns to July 1st. Chatter has already begun about the superstar class of 2019, headlined by Drew Doughty, Erik Karlsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Tyler Seguin, Logan Couture, Jeff Skinner and many, many more. Those discussions won’t stop anytime soon, as there are sure to be at least a few names that aren’t re-signed early.

Still, after some of the initial dreaming dies down teams have to start realistically figuring out if they can afford a superstar at the UFA premium. Not every team can pay Connor McDavid $12.5MM per season, even if he’s worth every penny. That question has been asked recently about Ottawa in particular, as the team has historically needed to keep player salaries relatively low. If Karlsson pushes the very limit of his value, Ottawa might not be able to afford him.

So, let’s try a hypothetical. If the trio of Tavares, Doughty and Karlsson all hit the market at the same time and were commanding around the same money/term, which one would you go after? Where would you want your money tied up? Vote for the player you’d most want to sign, but then also explain in the comments below the answer to another question. Would you rather spend big (big) money on forwards or defense in free agency?

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Islanders Have No Backup Plan For Arena

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New York Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky said there is no backup plan in regards to the Belmont Park arena proposal. He says that he and his partners are “ready to go and all in.”

Newsday’s Jim Baumbach interviewed the co-owner and Ledecky feels strongly the Islanders are going to be awarded the Belmont site by Empire State Development, although there is no timeline to when that might happen despite the fact that proposals were submitted on Sept. 28 of this year. Despite that, Ledecky won’t even consider options if they don’t get awarded the Belmont site.

“We have no Plan B,” Ledecky said, “and we haven’t even thought about one.”

The team also has to work out a deal to opt-out of their 25-year lease with the Barclays Center, their current home since 2015. Without knowing the state of their Belmont proposal, they have until Jan. 1, 2018, to negotiate a modification of their deal and must officially opt out before Jan. 31, 2018. Ledecky remains confident that the team will get the Belmont bid and doesn’t see it affecting the team interest in negotiating a deal to leave Barclays Center.

“I don’t think that’s in our thinking,” Ledecky said. “Instead of dealing in the hypothetical, we wake up every day optimistic that the state agency will reach a decision on a timely basis.”

Ledecky said the Islanders are ready to proceed the moment they are awarded the site, saying the Wilpon family’s Sterling Project Development will build their arena and Madison Square Garden-backed Oak View Group will operate it.

“We are in position to proceed immediately,” Ledecky said. “if the ESD makes the decision to give us the opportunity to do so . . .  We are ready and poised and focused, hoping for good news.”

The team is well known, however, for having issues with their arena plans and the question is, will this be any different? The success of the team locking up their star player, John Tavares, to a long-term deal might just hinge on this deal.

“The past is the past, and we’re all about the future,” Ledecky said. “And we think we have something that really will galvanize the community in a very positive way. It will galvanize the fanbase and we think it’s a tremendous opportunity for the Long Island area to have a world-class, really state-of-the-art arena.”

Philadelphia Flyers Must Look To Future

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The Philadelphia Flyers dropped their 10th straight game today against the Boston Bruins and while that losing streak is hard to take, Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi writes that there are positives despite all the negatives the team has been enduring this year. The team is playing well at even strength, struggling mainly on special teams and the team should be getting defenseman Radko Gudas back from a 10-game suspension on Dec. 12, so there is hope for this season.

Regardless, the scribe writes fans may have to look towards the future rather then at this year’s production. While fans are angry about the offseason trade in which the Flyers traded away center Brayden Schenn, who is currently putting up good numbers in St. Louis with 10 goals and 20 assists, there are long-term assets to consider. The team took on Jori Lehtera’s contract in exchange, and the veteran is making that deal more challenging to analyze as he hasn’t scored a goal for Philadelphia this year. However, the team also got back two first round picks in that deal. The team drafted center Morgan Frost this past year, who is playing well in the OHL with 13 goals and 27 assists in 26 games. The team is also getting another first-rounder in the bountiful 2018 draft as well.

Carchidi writes the team should have ample cap room next year when the contracts of Valtteri Filppula ($5MM AAV) and Matt Read ($3.63 AAV) expire. If the team chooses to buyout the final year of Lehtera’s deal, the team should have ample space to sign a free agent this offseason when players such as John Tavares, Evander Kane and James van Riemsdyk are available.

However, the team also has quite a few prospects starting with 19-year-old goaltender Carter Hart, a 2016 second-round pick, who looks like the team’s goaltender of the future. After recovering from a bout of mononucleosis, he has put up huge numbers in the WHL, including a 1.58 GAA and a .953 save percentage in 13 games. He is expected to be Canada’s starting goaltender in the upcoming World Juniors and some believe he could be ready to be the Flyers starter in the 2019-20 season after a year in the AHL.

If you include that with the large amount of young players under the age of 25 on the Flyers current roster such as Sean Couturier, Nolan Patrick, Travis Konecny, Shayne Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Robert Hagg and a bunch of other youngsters who still must prove themselves, the core is already there. Along with the success of a lot of their young players in the minors, this team has a lot to look forward to in the future.

 

Islanders Notes: Tavares, Ekman-Larsson, Eberle

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Despite the success of the New York Islanders since head coach Doug Weight took over in the middle of the season last year, not to mention the team’s success lately as the team has found itself in third place in the Metropolitan Division with a 14-7-2 record. However, don’t expect any hasty decisions by star forward John Tavares, according to Elliotte Friedman, via Sportsnet.

Tavares, who will be an unrestricted free agent next season, is having another big season for the Islanders, but due to questions regarding where the Islanders will play in the future as well as other issues as well, Tavares has chosen not to agree to an extension and prefers to wait before making any final decisions. It looks like this one may wait until the offseason as the Islanders are not expected to trade their star forward and are expected to gamble on being able to retain Tavares.

“Obviously, this is John Tavares’s decision, but I think the Islanders are very content to let this play out,” Elliotte Friedman said on Saturday’s Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. “I don’t necessarily think the trade deadline is a deadline for the Islanders here. If they have to keep going past it, I think they’re perfectly prepared to do it.”

As the team is faring well and they have quite a few young and improving players such as Mathew Barzal and Joshua Ho-Sang, many feel the Islanders are going to instead make a concerted effort at a playoff run to show Tavares what potential the franchise has in order to convince him to re-sign.

  • The New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that the team does need to make a big trade to show Tavares they are all in. However, he points out that trading for Buffalo Sabres’ Evander Kane to be that great linemate Tavares has never had doesn’t make any sense. Tavares’ line along with Anders Lee and Josh Bailey are already one of the top lines in the league and even the Jordan Eberle, Barzal pairing is paying dividends as well. What the team needs, according to Brooks, is a top-flight defenseman such as Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He suggests the team put a package together of Ho-Sang or Anthony Beauvillier, Brock Nelson, defenseman Ryan Pulock or Scott Mayfield and one of their 2018 first-round picks (they have two) to pick up the top-flight defenseman, who isn’t likely to re-sign with Arizona in two years.
  • Sportsnet’s Tim Panaccio writes that New York Islanders head coach Doug Weight feels that the trade to acquire Eberle has been a big success as the forward has really started to pick up his game recently. He has eight goals over the past 12 games and Weight noted that confidence was the key reason why he was struggling with the Edmonton Oilers. While the initial intention was to acquire Eberle to be a key linemate to Tavares, it didn’t take Weight long to see a better connection between Eberle and Barzal and to utilize them together on a solid second line. That has allowed the Islanders to become the third-best goal scoring team in the league, averaging 3.61 goals per game.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: New York Islanders

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will look at what teams are thankful for as the season nears the quarter point of completion. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We take a look at what’s gone well in the first month and what could improve as the season rolls on. Yesterday, we examined the Colorado Avalanche.

What are the New York Islanders most thankful for?

A solid start to the 2017-18 season.

The Islanders, who are doing everything they can to prevent star John Tavares from leaving their team when he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, have gotten off to a solid start and look poised to make the playoffs. The team is 12-7-2 coming into Friday and are currently third in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. If they can continue their success, the team should have a solid chance to make the playoffs, something they failed to do last year when they were one of the worst teams in the league at this point a year ago. A second-straight failed playoff appearance wouldn’t look good to a player who should have numerous playoff teams pounding on his door in June.

Who are the New York Islanders most thankful for?

Their offense. The Islanders rank second in the league in goals scored as the team has managed to give a lot of help to Tavares. Linemates Josh Bailey and Anders Lee have thrived around Tavares to form one of the top lines in the NHL. Bailey has five goals and 21 assists so far this year, while Lee has 11 goals and 10 assists. Oh, Tavares is doing just fine as he’s second in the NHL behind Nikita Kucherov with 15 goals. Throw in others like Jordan Eberle (seven goals), Brock Nelson (six goals), and rookie Mathew Barzal (five goals) and offense isn’t really a problem. Even defenseman Nick Leddy is getting into the action. After starting with just two assists in the first nine games, he’s put up five goals and 10 assists in his last 12 games to put himself among the top scoring defensemen in the league.

What would the Islanders be most thankful for?

A long-term commitment from Tavares.

The entire franchise seems to be focused on locking up Tavares who has said he wants to wait before committing long-term to the franchise. While many believe Tavares is waiting to make sure the Islanders find a legitimate home at the Belmont Parks site, there is plenty of confusion and worry about what might happen to the franchise if the team fails to re-sign their star player. To make matters worse, there is no word when a decision might be final on whether the Islanders will find a new home. However, if the team can get that commitment from the veteran, perhaps the team can move forward and focus on other key areas in the future.

What should be on the Islanders Holiday Wish List?

More success from their youth. One thing the team always seems to have a lot of is young talent. While Barzal has five goals, he still has stretches of inconsistency and the team would like to see him develop more. Other players such as Joshua Ho-Sang has been up and down between New York and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to find more consistency with his entire game. Young defenseman Ryan Pulock, who many felt might be able to supplant Travis Hamonic after he was traded, has struggled to get into games (11 games played, 10 healthy scratches) due to his struggles on defense. Anthony Beauvillier has just two goals in 17 games so far this season. The team must continue to develop their youth if they want long-term success.

Trade Rumors: Coyotes, Canadiens, Jets, Islanders

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In all likelihood, the recent three-way trade that sent Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators and Kyle Turris to the Nashville Predators will be the biggest deal made this season. Yet, that hasn’t stopped the whispers of an bustling trade market, especially this early in the season. At the quarter pole of the 2017-18 campaign, it’s been an unpredictable season, prompting an unexpectedly active market. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch has had his ear to the ground and has plenty of input on who the buyers and sellers are right now:

  • To no one’s surprise, Garrioch states that the floundering Arizona Coyotes are “willing to talk about pretty much every player on their roster”. That of course doesn’t include Calder-hopeful Clayton Keller or many of their other 21-and-under starters, but the rest of the roster may as well be up for grabs. The big off-season acquisitions of Derek Stepan, Antti Raanta, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Jason Demers have done nothing to change this team’s ability to win hockey games. At some point, GM John Chayka is going to go from “up-and-coming” to “up-and-went” and that pressure could force him to make some major moves as he rethinks his rebuild. While impending UFA’s like Raanta, Brad Richardson, and Luke Schenn would be the easiest pieces to move, the stakes are high for a Coyotes team whose core has done next to nothing for years and key pieces like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, and Tobias Rieder could soon be on their way out.
  • Perhaps the only team more disappointing than Arizona in 2017-18 is the farthest team from them across North America: the Montreal Canadiens. Under new head coach Claude Julien, the Habs have fallen apart. However, the newly-signed coach isn’t going anywhere, putting GM Marc Bergevin, who Garrioch calls ” the NHL’s most active GM”, on the hot seat. Bergevin may be willing to make a big move to save his job, and of course the first name that comes to mind is young forward Alex Galchenyuk, who has predictably struggled under the defense-first Julien. Galchenyuk seems lost in Montreal, without an identifiable position, role, or spot in the lineup, and could use a change of scenery. However, he is not wholly to blame for the Canadiens’ struggles. Tomas Plekanec has long been on the block and if the team truly commits to a rebuild, big names like Max Pacioretty, Shea Weber, and (if anyone is willing to take on his monstrous new contract) even Carey Price could soon join the list.
  • Garrioch mentions both the Winnipeg Jets and New York Islanders as possible sellers, but given the surprising success of both clubs thus far, neither is likely rushing to trade pieces away unless they can make their teams better this season. Impending Jets UFA’s Shawn Matthias and Matt Hendricks may draw interest, but if Winnipeg is in playoff position come deadline time, they would want veteran depth for themselves. It seems more likely that GM Kevin Cheveldayoff could use his overflow of young forwards like Marko Dano, Joel Armia, Andrew Copp, Adam Lowry, or Brandon Tanev as trade bait to bring in another top-six forward for a team that doesn’t shoot the puck nearly enough. As for the Islanders, Garrioch singles out first-time UFA Calvin de Haan as the player to watch. Yet, de Haan is one of, if not the best shot-blocker in the NHL, can play major minutes, and is reliable in both ends. If the Isles can resign him, wouldn’t they? Obviously, John Tavares is the main focus and the team thinks highly of younger options like Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock, but the loss of a player like de Haan, especially with Travis Hamonic now in Calgary, could cripple a playoff-bound Islanders squad. Odds are de Haan sticks around, at least as long as New York remains playoff-bound.
  • So who’s looking? Garrioch mentions the Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins as suitors for forward help, with the Dallas Stars potentially looking to make another big blue line trade to turn their season around. With that many buyers and several disappointed sellers, the trade NHL trade market may not wait until 2018 to heat up.

Snapshots: Free Agency, Soshnikov, Scandella

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While all eyes are on John Tavares of the New York Islanders as we get closer and closer to July 1, 2018, Craig Custance of The Athletic examines the impressive list of other top names headed for unrestricted free agency next summer. Custance updates us on the current situations for each one, including interesting notes on several impending KHL free agents.

The most intriguing one out of Russia will once again be Ilya Kovalchuk, who last year wasn’t able to find a deal because of the rights New Jersey still held. Those rights will expire after the season because he’s now 35, making him free to sign with anyone in the league. Custance expects it to take “a multi-year deal in the $6 to 7 million range,” but notes that he is still seen as a potential impact player around the league. Kovalchuk has 20 goals and 36 points in 31 games for St. Petersburg this season.

  • Also from The Athletic, Pierre LeBrun speaks directly to Toronto Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello about the recent Nikita Soshnikov recall, and how it was partially forced by a clause in his deal that would have allowed him to go back to Russia. Interestingly, Lamoriello tells him that even had Soshnikov been assigned to the KHL the Maple Leafs would have retained the ability to recall him at any time. Instead, the team brought him up and are excited about how he’s played this season in the minor leagues. With 12 points in 14 games for the Toronto Marlies, Soshnikov was arguably their best player so far this year.
  • Marco Scandella has been fined $5,000 for slashing Patric Hornqvist last night, the maximum amount allowed under the CBA. It’s not the first time Scandella has been disciplined by the Department of Player Safety, as he was fined and suspended previously for checks to the head. Some New York fans might even be familiar with his slashing prowess (h/t @myregularface) from his days with the Minnesota Wild.

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.

 

Metropolitan Notes: Johansson, Palmieri, Bailey, Samsonov

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Devils forward Marcus Johansson has been diagnosed with a concussion, head coach John Hynes confirmed to reporters, including The Record’s Andrew Gross.  The injury was sustained on Wednesday against the Oilers and there is no timetable for his return; the team is calling him out indefinitely.  Johansson, New Jersey’s most prominent offseason acquisition, is off to a decent start with his new team, posting three goals and two assists through ten games.

The Devils do have some good news on the injury front, however, Winger Kyle Palmieri resumed skating on Thursday and also took to the ice on Friday as he continues to work towards a return from his lower-body injury.  He’s currently on injured reserve but when he gets the green light to return, it’s likely that they’ll simply place Johansson on IR to free up the roster spot.

Elsewhere in the Metropolitan:

  • While Islanders captain John Tavares has drawn all of the attention, the team is facing the prospect of another high-scoring forward hitting free agency this summer. Winger Josh Bailey is off to a flying start this season with 16 points through 13 games, good for a tie for seventh in league-wide scoring.  While it doesn’t appear that there are ongoing talks of a new deal currently, GM Garth Snow noted on an appearance with Sirius XM NHL Radio (audio link) that they do intend to try to sign him to another long-term contract.  Bailey is in the final year of a five-year, $16MM pact signed back in 2013 and is positioning himself well for a nice raise on his next deal.
  • Capitals prospect Ilya Samsonov has been diagnosed with a concussion, notes J.J. Regan of NBC Sports Washington. The 20-year-old is widely considered to be one of the top goaltending prospects in the league after a strong showing in the KHL and at the World Juniors last season.  His 2017-18 campaign isn’t off to as strong a start though as he has posted a 2.78 GAA and a .912 SV% through his first 16 games with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, well off the marks of 2.13 and .936 he played to last year.

Metropolitan Notes: Islanders Arena, Tavares, Pesce, Hunwick

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The Islanders are continuing to discuss modifying their 25-year lease agreement at Barclays Center, Steven Marcus and Mike Rose of Newsday report.  Owner Jon Ledecky characterized the talks as “extremely positive”.  Both sides can opt out of their current agreement as of January 1st although it wouldn’t be surprising to see some sort of short-term arrangement worked out while they pursue a new arena site in Belmont.  Ledecky noted that the state has not given him any sort of timetable on when they might decide on which redevelopment proposal to choose from at that site.

Some have speculated that getting this new arena site in place would go a long way towards helping to keep center John Tavares beyond this season.  Islanders GM Garth Snow was asked about the status of contract talks and told reporters, “We want him to retire an Islander. The conversations I’ve had with John and [agent Pat Brisson] will remain private. I know John feels very strongly about this team, this organization and we feel the same back.”  Tavares is eligible for unrestricted free agency in July and would be the most prominent player to hit the open market in quite some time if he isn’t signed by then.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce is out indefinitely after being placed in concussion protocol, the team announced. He had to leave practice early on Tuesday after a shot rode up his stick and caught him in the head.  The team has already ruled him out of the lineup for their next two games in Colorado and Arizona.  Klas Dahlbeck is expected to take his place in the lineup.
  • Penguins defenseman Matt Hunwick skated for the first time today since being diagnosed with a concussion two weeks ago, notes Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. However, he’s still likely to be out for a little while yet as he has still not been given clearance to practice with contact by team doctors.  Hunwick has played in six games with Pittsburgh this season after signing a three-year, $6.75MM deal with them early in free agency back in July.

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