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Matt Niskanen

No Hearing For Matt Niskanen In Crosby Incident

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According to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, Matt Niskanen will not receive a disciplinary hearing with the Department of Player Safety for his cross-check last night on Sidney Crosby. Niskanen was assessed a five minute major and game misconduct, while Crosby did not return to the game.

In the play, Crosby is knocked off stride as he cuts in front of the Washington net, and ends up being hit in the face by Niskanen’s stick. While it did end up in an injury, Niskanen said after the game that he had no intent there, and that he wasn’t even trying to cross check him. His hands aren’t separated on his stick like a normal check, and he told reporters that he hopes Crosby is okay.

Niskanen could still be fined for the incident, but it looks more like the league has deemed his penalty served as the Capitals played with just five defenders for most of the game and the short overtime period. The Penguins on the other hand have provided no update on Crosby’s status, and should he remain out will be leaning on Evgeni Malkin to help them through the series. After falling down 2-0, Malkin and the Penguins rallied late to score two goals with an empty net and send the game to overtime. A Trevor Daley penalty would eventually allow the Capitals to win on a powerplay goal from Kevin Shattenkirk, one of the most maligned players of the series so far.

Reactions To The Kevin Shattenkirk Trade

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The Washington Capitals shocked the hockey world last night when they pushed all their chips to the middle of the table and bet on themselves in this year’s playoffs. Adding Kevin Shattenkirk to an already stacked team was both unexpected and devastating to their closest opponents. As it happened so late at night (and with so many conditions), reactions are still pouring in from media across the country.

  • T.J. Oshie may have had the best reaction, tweeting out a welcome message to his old St. Louis teammate. Oshie and Shattenkirk have played together on the world stage as well, suiting up at both the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.
  • Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy writes how this move is directly related to falling at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins a year ago. The Capitals are after a championship surely, but they first need to make their way through the defending champs and get the playoff monkey off their backs. Shattenkirk will help that tremendously.
  • Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press writes about the growing trend of playoff conditions and has some choice quotes from GM Brian MacLellan.
  • Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post was on the conference call with the general manager and relayed his explanation, saying that Shattenkirk was the only “Grade A” option out there in what is a rental-only market.
  • Craig Button on TSN’s TH2N last night spoke about the possibility that Shattenkirk leaving could open the door for the Los Angeles Kings to sneak into the playoffs. Weakening the Blues—who are still currently in a playoff spot—is good for everyone in the Western Conference playoff push.
  • Also from TSN is Frank Seravalli’s take which agrees with Wyshynski on the Caps going after the Penguins’ title this year. Seravalli also mentions how the Blues have a ready replacement in the towering Colton Parayko. Parayko is set to burst onto the NHL scene with a larger role and should be watched closely this summer when he is a restricted free agent.

Indeed, getting Shattenkirk will increase the Washington Capitals chance at the Stanley Cup this year, and with it they’ve build perhaps the best right-side on any defense group in the league. Matt Niskanen and John Carlson already gave teams matchup issues in the top four and the addition of Shattenkirk makes it that much more impressive.

Any team in the East should be worried now that any addition they make is useless. They’ll have to go through the Caps to get in—that is unless those pesky Penguins get to them first.

Snapshots: Gilbert, Schmaltz, Vrbata

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When Tom Gilbert was traded from Los Angeles to the Washington Capitals just over a week ago, it was a step in the right direction for the veteran defenseman. Gilbert had played just 18 games for the Kings and was clearly not in their plans after sending him through waivers to the AHL. He told Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post as much and admitted that coming to Washington was very exciting for him. The Capitals acquired him mostly as injury depth, as he is still playing at the AHL level. But perhaps his coming East will pay off already.

Matt Niskanen was taken out of last night’s game with a lower-body injury, and though it doesn’t seem to be serious it is a sign of how close Gilbert is to having to play a vital role on the best team in the NHL. The Capitals already have just two right-handed defensemen—Niskanen and John Carlson—and use Nate Schmidt on his off-side with Brooks Orpik. If either of Niskanen or Carlson went down it would open a gaping hole on the Caps back end, one that Gilbert would gladly step into. Remember that though it was a long time ago, Gilbert was once a 45 point defenseman, capable of moving the puck with the best of them. It’s nice to have depth.

  • It’s a dream come true for Chicago Blackhawks winger Nick Schmaltz as he plays alongside Jonathan Toews. Schmaltz had three points last night and looks to be finding a nice groove on the wing of the resurgent Toews. In his rookie season Schmaltz has just 14 points in 41 games, but six of those have come in the last five as he’s gotten a nice icetime bump. Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times writes in his latest column that the Blackhawks may have found an answer long-term on the captain’s wing. It doesn’t hurt that both are from the University of North Dakota and have taken a very similar path to the NHL.
  • If you consider Schmaltz a long-term piece on the top line, then how do you fill the other side? Is Richard Panik really the answer beside Toews? Craig Morgan of FanRag Sports has his doubts, and suggests a former Hawk should make his way back to the Windy City. Radim Vrbata is available at the deadline, and with his ridiculously low cap-hit of just $1MM, Chicago could likely afford him for the final part of the season. The veteran winger has 41 points this season and has rebounded well from the worst year of his career.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Eighth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?

Here are the results of our redraft so far:

1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)
21st Overall: Martin Hanzal (Toronto Maple Leafs)
22nd Overall: Andrew Cogliano (Boston Bruins)
23rd Overall: Kris Russell (New Jersey Devils)
24th Overall: Darren Helm (St. Louis Blues)
25th Overall: Cody Franson (Edmonton Oilers)
26th Overall: Benoit Pouliot (Calgary Flames)
27th Overall: Vladimir Sobotka (Washington Capitals)

Now we move forward to the 28th pick, which was held by the Dallas Stars.

To recap how this works:

  • We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
  • The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.

Back in 2005, Dallas went to the US High School circuit to select blueliner Matt Niskanen.  While he hadn’t been tested at a high level (he averaged nearly 2.25 points per game his draft year), Dallas was confident that his skills would eventually translate to the NHL level.  They were right.

After a pair of seasons at Minnesota-Duluth, Niskanen turned pro and was a regular with the Stars right away.  He picked up 35 points in his sophomore NHL campaign which remains the second best output of his career.

In February of 2011, Dallas dealt Niskanen along with left winger James Neal to Pittsburgh in exchange for Alex Goligoski.  Niskanen spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins and had his best year of his career in 2013-14, collecting 46 points in 81 games.  That helped him earn a seven year, $40.25MM contract with Washington in the summer of 2014.  He has been with the Capitals ever since then and is currently in his third season with the team.

Overall, Niskanen sits seventh among games played by 2005 draft picks, third among blueliners to only Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Keith Yandle.  In 695 career games, he has 46 goals and 202 assists.

With the 28th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Stars select?  Cast your vote below!

Mobile users, click here to vote.

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