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Marc-Andre Fleury

Aleksander Barkov, Matt Murray Leave Games Early

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Midway through the second period of the Florida Panthers-Toronto Maple Leafs game on Wednesday night, Aleksander Barkov disappeared from the bench and would not return. The 21-year old sniper is one of Florida’s few bright spots this season, following up his 59 point season with 27 in his first 35 games.

In his absence, Nick Bjugstad has been promoted to the top line. Hopefully it’ll spark the 24-year old, who only has two points this season. After three successful campaigns and in the second year of his six-year deal, Bjugstad has been a disaster. Injury and ineffectiveness have stolen the first part of the year, though perhaps skating with Jaromir Jagr will turn it around.

Heading into the third period in Pittsburgh with his team down 2-1, Matt Murray was replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury in net with no explanation from the team (in fact, the team’s Twitter account was at a loss for words). While there was contact on an earlier goal by Lee Stempniak, Murray finished the period.

After missing the first part of the season with a broken hand, he’s come back just as strong as ever. A .928 save percentage, 2.14 goals against average and a 13-3-1 record has Murray among league leaders again in his sophomore season. If he misses any more time, it only makes the Pittsburgh decision on whether to keep both goaltenders through the expansion draft even harder.

Friedman’s Latest: Fleury, Trouba, Trade Market

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was on Sportsnet 590 in Toronto recently to provide some updates on a few players and the trade market in general.  Here are some of the highlights; transcription courtesy of FanRag’s Chris Nichols.

Marc-Andre Fleury (Penguins)

Friedman, like many others, expects that Fleury’s days with Pittsburgh are close to being over.  The question at this point is whether they’ll make an in-season move or keep him around for what they expect to be another lengthy postseason run.  If they were to keep Fleury, they’d have the luxury of having two starting goaltenders which could come in handy in case of injury, which is how Murray wound up with the number one job in the playoffs.

He also points out Fleury’s 12-team no trade clause as a potential obstacle.  However, Friedman believes that when the time comes to make a trade that they’ll check in with the goaltender to make sure he’s happy with his eventual new destination.  This is his 13th career season, all with the Penguins after being the first overall pick in 2003 so they’ll want to try to do right by their longest-tenured player.

One other potential obstacle that Friedman didn’t mention is Fleury’s struggles so far this season.  He has not adapted particularly well to not being the full-fledged starter and has a GAA of 3.25 and a SV% of .905, both well below league average.  For teams that might be looking at him as an in-season option, those numbers certainly won’t help his value and there are other goaltenders already currently available.

Jacob Trouba (Jets)

Friedman noted that Toronto is among the teams that have kept tabs on Winnipeg blueliner Jacob Trouba.  However, the Leafs, like several other Canadian teams, have some doubts regarding Trouba’s willingness to play in a Canadian market long-term.

Trouba rescinded his trade request when he signed a two year, $6MM bridge deal back in early November.  However, many still think he will be dealt by the time that the contract expires.  The Jets have a pair of big money, higher end blueliners on the right side in Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers and Trouba has stated his preference is to play on his natural side.

Interestingly enough, Friedman floated out a suggestion that a deal involving Trouba and Fleury could make sense for both sides with the Penguins needing some help on the back end while the Jets’ goaltending duo of youngsters Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson have struggled with consistency throughout the season.

Trade Market

Friedman doubled down on his comments earlier this week about the trade market being paralyzed.  He noted that teams are still talking regularly but one GM told him that no one seems ready to do anything yet.  With so many teams having limited cap space, it’s likely that the bulk of the notable trades this season will come closer to the trade deadline.

Friedman On The Post-Freeze Trade Market

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With the NHL’s Holiday Roster Freeze underway, there won’t be any big deals to announce in the coming days. No team is getting Kevin Shattenkirk for Christmas or Jason Zucker for Hanukkah. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Frieman is filling the down time with some ideas as to what may happen once the trade market re-opens in his “30 Thoughts”.

There have been deals made immediately following the Holiday Freeze in each of the past three seasons and the end of the freeze always kicks off an active two months of transactions leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline. Friedman warns though that the 2016-17 is a year like no other before. Friedman says “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a trade market as paralyzed as this one (due to) so little cap room, so many teams chasing the playoffs and the expansion draft looming.” The reason only minor deals have gone down over the first few months of the season is because no identifiable market has yet formed. With so few teams outside a reasonable shot at the postseason and front offices proceeding with caution in regards to the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft, the market is barren right now. Friedman, and all hockey fans, hope that some excitement is on the way, but he has his doubts that major moves are in the near future this season.

If one big piece does move, Friedman speculates it could be Toronto Maple Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk. Friedman explains that last year the power forward was completely off the table, but this year interested teams are being told that he could be available for the right price. It will definitely be a high price in the current seller’s market. The 27-year-old van Riemsdyk, who has one year remaining on his current contract, is a bona fide scorer and one of the best in the league at net front presence. He’s hit 30 goals once before, in 2013-14, and is on pace to do so again this season. If the rebuilding Leafs decide that they want more young talent or perhaps a top defenseman, van Riemsdyk could net them that return. Eric Staal was traded by the Carolina Hurricanes to the New York Rangers last season for two second-round picks and a top prospect, and he was in the final year of his contract. The Leafs will likely get more than that if they decide to move long-time leader van Riemsdyk.

One team that could be interested is the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although they are pressed for cap space, GM Jim Rutherford seemingly always finds a way to bring in the players he wants and remain salary cap compliant. As Friedman points out, it’s been unusually quiet for Rutherford and the Penguins so far, but with a chance to repeat as Stanley Cup champs, he believes they’ll make a move sooner rather than later. However, Friedman believes the target for Pittsburgh will be a defenseman. With Kris Letang currently injured and always an injury risk regardless, the Penguins may want some added depth. It will have to be a rental though, as Pittsburgh is already in a tough situation in regards to the looming expansion draft and four blue liners – Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Olli Maatta, and Derrick Pouliot – they would like to keep protected and an eye on re-signing Justin Schultz as well.

The Penguins’ biggest trade chip is goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Despite his struggles in 2016-17, Fleury remains a valuable asset and Pittsburgh needs to move him before expansion to protect Matt Murray. Friedman believes the perfect partner would be the Dallas Stars, who continue to get uninspiring performances from the duo of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi. Any trade would almost definitely require a one-for-one swap of goalis, and while both Stars keepers are signed to significant contracts through next season, the Penguins will take any deal they can get to ensure Murray’s protection and potentially open up some cap space.

Joining van Riemsdyk and Fleury as big names that have been floated around this season is Arizona Coyotes pending free agent Martin Hanzal. At this point, an extension seems unlikely and Hanzal is almost sure to be moved. Additionally, Friedman believes there could be a market for career Coyote Shane Doan and bounce-back goalie Mike Smith. At age 40, Doan is finally showing some wear and tear, as his numbers are way off the usual pace. If this is his final season, Doan has never been close to a Stanley Cup and deserves a shot. Teams would love to add the toughness and heart of the veteran forward. Meanwhile, Smith has been playing great of late and may be of interest to contenders as well. There is a strong chance that Arizona is leaning towards protecting young backup Louis Domingue over their starter in the expansion draft and may like to jettison Smith while his value is high. Don’t be surprised if Radim Vrbata becomes another name mentioned as heading out of Arizona.

Read up on all of Friedman’s thoughts on the trade market here and enjoy the Holiday Roster Freeze before your team inevitably makes a move or two in the new year.

Snapshots: Golden Knights, Team Czech Republic, All-Time Lists

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The (probably) Golden Knights have hit another snag in their naming saga as the US Trademark office has denied their application due to the similarities to the College of Saint Rose Golden Knights. While this doesn’t seem like a real problem – in a statement given to Alex Prewitt of SI, the Vegas team says that these actions are “not at all unusual” and points out the many duplicate names across professional sports – it is just another public annoyance for a team that likely just wants to start playing hockey. With so much discussion over the name, logo and all the other minutia, the start of the 2017-18 season can’t come soon enough for George McPhee and his team.

  • Corey Pronman of ESPN has a look at the preliminary roster for Team Czech Republic at this year’s World Junior Championship. As the rosters of many of the other teams came out over the past few days, the Czech list was conspicuously missing. Among the highlights, are Red Wings’ prospect Filip Hronek who is off to an unbelievable start with Saginaw, scoring 20 points in 24 games (as a defenseman) and Senators’ prospect Filip Chlapik who ranks in the QMJHL top five in both scoring (44 points) and penalty minutes (58 PIM in 26 games).  The team will be dangerous with several high NHL draft picks on it and will likely be in the mix for a bronze medal at the tournament.
  • The NHL Network published their list of the top-40 goaltenders of all-time and as Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times put it, the list is “uh, interesting, in a lot of ways.”  The list has the regulars at the top – Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy, in that order – but gets “interesting” a little further down as they list active goaltenders like Jonathan Quick (#16) and Marc-Andre Fleury (#21) quite high. While obviously these lists are subjective, it does lend credence to the idea that goaltending is better than it ever has been before and is a major reason for the suppressed goal totals. Comparing players across eras will always be difficult, but I can imagine our readers will have a few different takes on the order of this list. Share your thoughts in the comments.

Penguins Notes: Pouliot, Ownership, Expansion

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The Penguins will soon be facing a tough decision with their defense corps, writes Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Derrick Pouliot has been on injured reserve since October 21st with a lower body injury.  However, he has been practicing since the middle of November and is nearing a return to the lineup; he recently completed a three game conditioning stint with their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with no setbacks.

At the beginning of the year, the 22 year old found himself routinely as a healthy scratch.  He has only played in one game this season, the one he was injured in.  That’s hardly an ideal spot for any young blueliner to be in, especially one that was a first round pick and is expected to be a key part of Pittsburgh’s future plans.

Head coach Mike Sullivan acknowledges that Pouliot is nearing a return and that they are working on a game plan that will allow him to see more game action when he’s activated off of injured reserve.

The tough decision moving forward will be who comes out of the lineup.  Kris Letang is their top rearguard and won’t be sitting while Trevor Daley isn’t likely to sit either.  Ian Cole and Justin Schultz have formed a strong third pairing which leaves Brian Dumoulin and Olli Maatta, who are third and fourth in ice time per game for Pittsburgh defenders.  Both of them take regular turns on the penalty kill, an area that Pouliot doesn’t typically play.

[Related: Penguins Depth Chart]

Suffice it to say, the Penguins are going to be hard pressed to find regular ice time for Pouliot.  It’s one thing to give a player a night off here and there but that’s not the type of playing time that is needed to develop a young player.  Pouliot admitted that he hasn’t given any thought to the possibility of a trade yet but acknowledges his immediate future may be a bit murky moving forward:

“I’m not too sure (of what the future holds). We’ll have to see where things go down the road here. Trades happen. You never know what could unfold.”

Other news from Pittsburgh:

  • The Penguins are in discussions to add a minority owner, notes Dave Molinari, also of the Post-Gazette. Owners Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux are in talks with Ventas Inc. CEO Debra Cafaro about a $25MM stake in the team.  Last year, Burkle and Lemieux noted that they were looking into their options, including selling a small stake or potentially selling the franchise.  They will, however, retain the controlling interest in the club if this potential agreement comes to fruition.
  • ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun takes a closer look at Pittsburgh’s expansion draft situation. Their biggest concern comes between the pipes where Marc-Andre Fleury has a partial no-move clause (that can be waived) while Matt Murray needs to be protected as well; teams can only protect one goaltender though.  Accordingly, LeBrun is among many to expect that Fleury will be traded before then.  If that happens, they then would be without a goalie to leave exposed and since all teams must leave at least one goalie unprotected, GM Jim Rutherford would still have a bit of work to do to meet that requirement.

Possible Goaltending Options For Vegas Golden Knights

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When the expansion draft comes around this June, George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon will have some tough decisions to make all over their team. They are having mock-drafts each month to prepare for the event, but there is one position that shouldn’t cause any headaches over how many solid options there are.

With each team only able to protect one goaltender, front offices around the league will have to either move a netminder before the draft, or risk losing one for nothing. While that would protect them from losing anyone else, it’s been clear this year more than maybe any other that an all-world goaltender can make your team special right from day one.  Here are a few options for Vegas in net come the summer.

Pittsburgh – Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray

In what will be the most interesting situation around the league, the Pittsburgh Penguins are currently required to protect Fleury over Murray due to his no-movement clause. While they’ve said time and again that they’re fine with keeping both through the year, Murray’s play at such a young age makes him a mouth-wateringly attractive asset.

It’s in Fleury’s court at this point, as he’ll have the option to waive his clause for any trade before the deadline or prior to the draft to make him eligible. If he does, it’s not certain that the Vegas team would select him, but he’d obviously be an elite option. At 31, Fleury is having one of the worst seasons of his career, but is still a two-time Stanley Cup champion with an impressive life-time record.

The Penguins must find a way to protect Murray, or he’ll surely be the pick to start in game one at the T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas.

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Full List Of Mandatory-Protection Players In Expansion Draft

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Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston has published the full list of players who, due to no-movement clauses in their current contracts, must be protected in the upcoming expansion draft for the new Vegas Golden Knights. These are players who will count against the protection limits should they choose not to waive their NMC rights prior to the draft.

Each team has the right to protect either:

A) Seven forwards, three defenders, one goaltender

or

B) Eight skaters, one goaltender

These players will count against those numbers, and as Johnston points out, there are some notable inclusions and omissions from this group. Players like Jordan Staal, Rick Nash and Bobby Ryan all had incorrect information spread about their contracts. The former two will now need protection, while the latter will not, due to his deal only having a no-movement to the minors clause.

The Chicago Blackhawks, with eight players listed, will have little flexibility at the draft, with only four forward spots (or one defenseman) left to use. Many others, according to Johnston, including Toronto’s Nathan Horton, are likely to be made exempt if they are still on LTIR as the draft approaches.

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Penguins Notes: Murray, Sheary, Hagelin

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will take on the San Jose Sharks tonight in a rematch of the Stanley Cup Final from last season, and there will be a familiar face in net. Matt Murray will make his second start of the season after allowing just a single goal in his debut against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. Even though Marc-Andre Fleury has played exceptionally well to start the year, head coach Mike Sullivan says both netminders will continue to play, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

We’re fortunate. We have two really good goaltenders that we know are going to give us a chance to win. We’re going to do our best to keep them both in the mix. We’ll go from there. These situations always have a way to work themselves out. Inevitably performance is always the dictator.

Mackey expects that Murray’s play tonight will factor large in the decision of who to start on Tuesday at home, though it’s up in the air from that point. The team doesn’t have another back-to-back situation until November 18th and 19th.

  • The Penguins will get some help up front to try and score some goals for Murray, as Conor Sheary will return from a seven game absence to play tonight. Sheary suffered an eye injury last month in Montreal and has been itching to get back into game action.  According to Mackey, he’ll start on the fourth line with Matt Cullen and Eric Fehr, though he could quickly ascend back up the lineup. Sheary has one goal and two assists on the season in just four games.
  • The ’HBK’ line (Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel) is officially broken up, according to Adam Gretz of NBC. The trio that was so dominant in the playoffs is now spread out over the Penguins top three units, with Hagelin skating alongside Sidney Crosby and Patrick Hornqvist.  As Gretz notes, Hagelin brings a lot of the same aspects that Pascal Dupuis added so effectively to Crosby’s wing over the years. Hopefully it will spark something in the speedy winger, as he only has two points on the season so far.  Kessel on the other hand is off to a great start this season and now finds himself skating alongside Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz. #81’s ten points this year trails only Malkin on the Penguins, and he leads the team in assists.

Penguins Notes: Crosby, Schultz, Defense

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Sidney Crosby is unquestionably one of, if not the very best player in the game today. Naturally the Penguins would much rather have Crosby in the lineup than out but over the years the team has done surprisingly well without their superstar center. This year was no exception as Pittsburgh went 3 – 2 – 1 with Crosby sidelined due to concussion-related symptoms. However, in the three games since he returned, Crosby has impacted the performance of the power play as much as anything else, as Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes.

With Crosby back in the lineup, the Penguins have cashed in on four of nine opportunities, good for a 44.4% success rate. In 25 chances without Crosby, Pittsburgh tallied five man-advantage goals, still a solid 20% mark. But as head coach Mike Sullivan notes, it isn’t simply the results; it’s that the power play creates a lot more high quality scoring chances with Crosby on the ice.

“One of the things that we like about our power play is the movement. That’s what makes it difficult to defend. We’ve had a lot of movement and that shot mentality, and Sid’s part of that group. He’s got great offensive instincts, so whether he’s beside the net or he’s on the half-wall or he’s in the slot, he’s a dangerous guy, whether he’s passing or shooting.”

In addition to his skills with the biscuit on his stick, Sullivan notes that his franchise pivot excels at gaining possession of the puck due to his ability to win faceoffs.

“It helps us to win that first faceoff so we can establish some zone time. He’s a threat, regardless of where he is on the rink.”

Of course, regardless of his proficiency on the power play, Crosby can affect a game in a multitude and the Penguins are simply a better and more dangerous team when he is healthy and playing.

More on the Penguins:

  • Speaking of the team’s power play success, Justin Schultz has done a fine job for the Penguins on the man advantage in the five games since stalwart defenseman Kris Letang went down with an injury, as Pro Hockey Talk’s Adam Gretz writes. Pittsburgh has been successful on five of 16 chances with Letang sidelined and Schultz has been on the ice for every one of those goals. Sullivan notes it’s Schultz’s willingness to simply fire the puck on goal that is key to this recent run of success: “Sometimes, when we put guys on our first power-play unit, there’s always a tendency to try to want to get the puck to (Sidney) Crosby or (Evgeni) Malkin or (Phil) Kessel when sometimes the right play is to put the puck on the net.” Letang appears to be nearing a return but at least Pittsburgh can breathe a bit easier knowing that Schultz has adequately replaced their best blue liner’s power play production.
  • Finally, in a piece for Today’s Slapshot, Dave Holcomb expresses his belief that the team’s sole weakness remains their blue line. That’s not a surprising position given that the Penguins boast two Stanley Cup winning goalies with Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury along with two of the best players in the world in Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. But as Holcomb notes, while the team is still generating plenty of offense (seventh in the NHL in shots on goal per game), they are also allowing more chances against (second most shots allowed per game). Last season Pittsburgh finished with the second-best Corsi For % at 52.72. So far this season they are at 50%. Of course the team’s blue line was far from a strength last season when the won the Stanley Cup and it should also be noted again that Letang has missed more than half of the season so far. Pittsburgh smartly used the trade market a year ago to boost their defense corps, adding Trevor Daley and Schultz from Chicago and Edmonton respectively. That should serve as a reminder that Pittsburgh is likely to focus once more on improving the blue line as we draw nearer this season’s trade deadline.

PHR Originals

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Here’s a roundup of all of Pro Hockey Rumors original content for the week:

  • Zach Leach examined the precarious position the Pittsburgh Penguins may find themselves in ahead of the expansion draft with Marc-Andre Fleury’s NMC requiring the team to protect him and therefore leaving open the possibility Matt Murray might be available for Las Vegas to choose should the team not find another alternative.
  • Brett Barrett looks at the rookie players currently in the NHL who could see their entry-level contracts slide should they be returned to their respective Junior teams.
  • Gavin Lee posts the latest in the Franchise Faceoff series, comparing the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks.
  • Zach Leach ponders whether goalie Malcolm Subban, Boston’s first-round pick in 2012, is on the verge of being labeled a bust.
  • Brian La Rose continued with PHR’s 2005 Draft Take Two series, asking who the New York Islanders should select if they had a chance to do it all over again.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

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