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Salary Cap Deep Dive: New York Rangers

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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.

New York Rangers

Current Cap Hit: $73,823,569 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Pavel Buchnevich (one year remaining, $925K)
D Neal Pionk (one year remaining, $925K)
F Lias Andersson (three years remaining, $894K)
F Filip Chytil (three years remaining, $894K)
D Anthony DeAngelo (one year remaining, $863K)
G Alexandar Georgiev (two years remaining, $793K)

Potential Bonuses

Pionk: $850K
Andersson: $850K
Deangelo: $400K
Chytil: $350K

Total: $2.45MM

With the team in quick rebuild mode, there are some entry-level deals already and if the team continues to trend in that direction, they will have quite a bit more. The team’s most prominent player at the NHL level to date would be Buchnevich, who improved on his rookie campaign with a 14-goal, 43-point season last year. He saw more ice time as well, improving from 13:16 ATOI to 15:01 as well as saw significant time on the team’s power play, potting five goals and 11 assists with the man advantage and has earned himself a solid spot in the team’s top-six. Another improved season could see him being an expensive restricted free agent.

The team has high expectations for their two 2017 first-rounders in Andersson and Chytil. Both have shown excellent skills and have received some time playing for the NHL with Andersson seeing seven games, while saw nine games. Both are expected to earn time with the Rangers out of training camp, but both may find themselves on bottom-six lines unless they can prove that they can center the second or third lines in training camp.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Kevin Hayes ($5.18MM, UFA)
F Mats Zuccarello ($4.5MM, UFA)
D Rob O’Gara ($874K, RFA)
F Cody McLeod ($750K, UFA)
D Fredrik Claesson ($863K, RFA)
F Peter Holland ($675K, UFA)
D Steven Kampfer ($650K, UFA)
G Marek Mazanec ($650K, UFA)

The team agreed to a one-year deal with Hayes, avoiding arbitration, but now face the possibility that Hayes could walk away at the end of the season as he will be unrestricted, which will force the team into two possible directions, including attempting to work out a long-term deal with the team after Jan. 1, 2019, or trading him, possibly at the trading deadline if the two sides can’t agree on anything. Hayes, who has been a jack of all trades playing multiple positions, seems to have developed into a solid center as he produced his best season ever, which included 25 goals, eight more than any previous year. The question is, do the Rangers view him as a fixture in their lineup as they continue to rebuild?

At age 30, Zuccarrello still puts up solid numbers, but despite the high-end minutes that the veteran gets, he falls into a similar category to that of Hayes where you have to ask whether he is in the team’s long-term plans. The winger is penciled in to play on the team’s top line once again, but has only put up 31 goals over the past two seasons. He does produce quite a few assists (81 over the past two years), but what the Rangers need more than anything is goals. Zuccarello will also turn 32 before he begins his next contract and at that age, how long are the Rangers willing to commit to him?

Two Years Remaining

F Chris Kreider ($4.63MM, UFA)
F Ryan Spooner ($4MM, UFA)
F Vladislav Namestnikov ($4MM, UFA)
F Jimmy Vesey ($2.28MM, UFA)
F Matt Beleskey ($1.9MM, UFA)
F Jesper Fast ($1.85MM, UFA)

Kreider is coming off a tough year in which he had to deal with blood clots and had surgery to relieve the pressure and missed almost two months of time. The 27-year-old didn’t have as solid of a season as he tallied just 16 goals in 58 games, which is a far cry from the 28 goals he scored in 2016-17 although a lot of that is due to the fact that his playing time dipped as the team didn’t want to play him too many minutes due to the blood clot issue. Regardless with a full offseason to rest and recuperate, Kreider should be able to bounce back as one of the team’s top scorers.

The team also have high expectations from two other forwards that the team acquired through at the trade deadline a year ago in Namestnikov and Spooner. Namestnikov was the biggest name to arrive in New York in the Ryan McDonagh trade with Tampa Bay. He was a key player for the Lightning, posting 20 goals and 44 points with them, but he actually lost playing time once he arrived in New York and put up just two goals and four points in 19 games. The team hopes that a new coach and proper training camp with his new team will make quite a difference. Spooner came over in the Rick Nash trade with Boston and has posted solid numbers with the Bruins over the past few seasons and could turn out to be a top-six wing or third-line center in New York. Between the two teams, Spooner combined for 13 goals and 28 assists.

The team also expect big things from Vesey, who signed as a undrafted collegiate free agent a couple of years ago and if finally starting to show that he belongs in the NHL. The 25-year-old winger has put up solid numbers for two years, but could find himself getting more opportunities in the team’s rebuild. In two years, he’s combined for 33 goals and 55 points.

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Metropolitan Notes: Capitals, Nelson, Zibanejad, Myers

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If it ain’t broke. Don’t fix it. At least that seems to be what the Washington Capitals believe. After capturing the Stanley Cup last season, the team completed one of its final moves when it locked up forward Tom Wilson to a six-year, $31-year deal. And suddenly, the team miraculously has managed to bring back almost its entire roster for next season, according to J.J. Regan of Yahoo Sports.

While all teams are forced to shake up their roster and allow for the losses of free agents after each season, the Capitals are an unusual situation, considering the number of potential free agents as well as how tight their salary cap has been over the past two years. It wasn’t going to get any better, yet still, the team still was able to re-sign stud defenseman John Carlson (eight years, $64MM) as well as find a creative way to trade defenseman Brooks Orpik to Colorado and then bring him back after the Avalanche waived him. They also managed to hold onto trade deadline acquisition Michal Kempny (four years, $10MM).

Sure, the team did suffer a couple of losses, including the loss of fourth-line center Jay Beagle and backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer. However, the team has people ready to step into those positions, including prospect Travis Boyd, free agent acquisition Nic Dowd as well as place long-time minor leaguer Pheonix Copley to fill in for a year, while the team waits for superstar prospect Ilya Samsonov to develop in the AHL for a year.

  • Andrew Gross of Newsday wonders whether the New York Islanders would consider moving center Brock Nelson for a defenseman, now that the 26-year-old has agreed to a one-year, $4.25MM deal with the team. With quite a bit of youth in the wings and the team in desperate need for blueline help and the fact that Nelson could walk away from the team as an unrestricted free agent next season, a trade might make a lot of sense. Nelson has been quite productive for New York, posting at least 19 goals in his last four seasons.
  • The Athletic’s Rick Carpinello (subscription required) analyzes and grades the season of New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad, who took over the team’s No. 1 center position last season after the team traded away Derek Stepan. Many of the same questions about Stepan not being a No. 1 center now have fallen to Zibanejad. Yet, the 25-year-old definitely took his game up a notch, posting a career-high 27 goals in 72 games, but once again suffered an injury that interrupted his season. It marks the second straight year that Zibanejad has struggled with injuries, which is a concern and the center still must work on his consistency, including the fact that he posted no goals and one assist in the final seven games.
  • Dave Isaac of the Cherry Hill Courier Post writes that if the Philadelphia Flyers are impressed by the play of 6-foot-5 prospect Philippe Myers in training camp this year, that could impact the role of defenseman Radko Gudas, who could then be on his way out as Myers physicality could replace Gudas role as well as the fact that Myers and Travis Sanheim were a great pair when they were together with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL.

Rangers Likely To Trade A Center This Offseason

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With many teams in the league looking for center help this offseason and seeing few options on the free agent market, the trade market seems to be the best way to fill that heavily in-demand. Just earlier this week, the Montreal Canadiens traded Alex Galchenyuk, who failed to succeed at the center position for the team in previous years, to Arizona. The Coyotes have already stated they intend to move him back to center in hopes that he can make the conversion and fill their No. 2 center hole.

The New York Rangers seem to be in a unique situation. Despite the franchise suddenly finding themselves in rebuilding mode, the one thing the Rangers have plenty of is reliable centers. In fact, the team has eight potential centers currently on the roster, including Mika Zibanejad, Kevin Hayes, Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil, Vladislav Namestnikov, Ryan Spooner, Boo Nieves and Brett Howden. While some of those eight will be forced to move to the wing position, there is also a strong possibility that the team will move at least one of those centers during the offseason, and very possibly, before next week’s draft.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes that while the team has a solid combination of Zibanejad, Chytil, Hayes and Andersson currently penciled in as their top four centers next season, that’s a logjam at that position that likely would not aid the development of Chytil and Andersson, two teenagers who need as much playing time as possible at the NHL level. Andersson especially, last year’s No. 7 pick in the 2017 draft, needs time on the ice and a fourth-line role isn’t going to cut it.

The scribe writes that Hayes may be available after quietly putting up a career-high 25 goals while playing center for New York last year. The restricted free agent is in line for a potential five-year deal worth about $4.5MM per year based on his success last season and there is no guarantee that Hayes would earn the No. 2 center spot with all this depth. Regardless, Hayes would be a highly coveted commodity for many teams who are in desperate need for help at that position.

The key for the Rangers is to trade him straight out for help on their blueline, according to Brooks, who adds that New York is unlikely to use Hayes as part of a package to move up in the draft. The team’s biggest need is at defense and there are many teams that could use a center and have defense to trade, including the Calgary Flames who might be ready to move Dougie Hamilton.

Snapshots: Sweden, Voynov, Yawney

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Sweden released their preliminary roster for the upcoming World Championships, and it is loaded with NHL talent. John Klingberg, Adam Larsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Erik Gustafsson, Adrian Kempe, Mikael Backlund, Johan Larsson, Mattias Janmark, Lias Andersson, Jacob de La Rose, Magnus Paajarvi and Mika Zibanejad will all be heading to the tournament for the Swedes.

Though obviously this group is missing some of their top options like Erik Karlsson and Henrik Zetterberg, it will also have some very interesting young players filling the gaps. Vegas Golden Knights draft pick Erik Brannstrom will be among the defense corps, and Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 in Vancouver expects Elias Pettersson will be added soon.

  • There have been some conflicting reports on Slava Voynov’s potential return to the NHL, but Arthur Staple of The Athletic can make one thing very clear. The New York Islanders have not reached out to anyone connected to the former NHL player, and have “zero interest” in bringing him aboard. Whether or not any team will actually sign the 28-year old defenseman is still unclear.
  • The Anaheim Ducks will not bring back assistant coach Trent Yawney next season, choosing not to renew his contract. Yawney has been with the Ducks organization for seven seasons, first as head coach of their AHL affiliate (Syracuse, then Norfolk) and the last four seasons as an assistant to Bruce Boudreau and Randy Carlyle in the NHL.

Ten NHL Players Announced For Swedish World Championship Roster

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After Canada announced their first 18 players yesterday, Sweden has now given us 10 NHL names that will suit up for them at the upcoming World Championships in Denmark. Like usual, their group will include several professional players from the SHL—though top prospect Rasmus Dahlin has already said he won’t be attending.

The confirmed NHL players are below:

Goaltenders:

Anders Nilsson, Vancouver Canucks

Defensemen:

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes
John Klingberg, Dallas Stars
Erik Gustafsson, Chicago Blackhawks
Adam Larsson, Edmonton Oilers

Forwards:

Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers
Mikael Backlund, Calgary Flames
Jacob de La Rose, Montreal Canadiens
Johan Larsson, Buffalo Sabres
Magnus Paajarvi, Ottawa Senators

New York Rangers Fire Coach Alain Vigneault

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Hours after putting up an egg in their 5-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, the New York Rangers fired their head coach Alain Vigneault after five years. After four playoff appearances, the Rangers struggled, finishing 34-39-9 on the season. In all, however, Vigneault had quite a bit of success in his time in New York, which included taking the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2013-14, his first season with the team. He led the team to a 226-147-37 record over the five years.

The firing also came after Vigneault himself stated in his post-game press conference that he deserved to stay and defended his record, according to Newsday’s Colin Stephenson.

“Yes, yes. Without a doubt,’’ he said when asked if he thought he would hold on to his job despite the Rangers’ 34-39-9 record, which caused them to miss the playoffs for only the second time since the NHL lockout that canceled the 2004-05 season. “I think my staff is the right staff for this job. I think — and this is just my opinion — but I think one of the strongest assets of this organization is its coaching staff and their experience.’’

Some of Vigneault’s struggles were not his doing as the Rangers decided to rebuild on the fly, sending out a letter on Feb. 7, telling fans about their decision to rebuild the team. The Rangers followed that by selling off several veterans including Michael Grabner, Rick Nash, Nick Holden, J.T. Miller and captain Ryan McDonah.

However, Stephenson also points out several issues that came up this season that forced the Rangers to head in that direction. After re-designing its defense with the acquisitions of star free agent Kevin Shattenkirk and re-signing Brendan Smith, the team was hoping to possess one of the best defenses in the league. Instead, the team started slowly at 1-6-2 in its first nine games and was 3-7-2 after 12 in which Vigneault almost lost his job. The team was able to right the ship after that, but only because of the impressive play of both the team’s goaltenders in Henrik Lundqvist and Ondrej Pavelec. Neither goalie was able to sustain their great play.

Injuries also played a part. Shattenkirk was playing hurt, while Smith came into camp out of shape and never returned to form before eventually being sent down to the AHL. Winger Chris Kreider missed 24 games due to a blood clot that led to surgery on his ribs. Center Mika Zibanejad missed nine games with a concussion, while Shattenkirk had knee surgery in January and never came back.

The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello writes (subscription required) that there were other reasons as well that stand out when it came to Vigneault. The coach’s lack of success at the blueline have been issues for years as his system had failed repeatedly. Vigneault had undergone three different defensive assistant coaches in three years, including Ulf Samuelsson, Jeff Beukeboom and Lindy Ruff and replaced most of the defense and still failed to get them going. His tough love was also an issue as he butted heads with many players, especially Miller and Pavel Buchnevich. However, the most telling numbers is the team’s record from Jan. 7 to Feb. 25, when Vigneault led the team to just a 5-16-1 record.

Vigneault has a 648-435-98 overall record throughout his career with the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks and the Rangers. He won the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year in 2007.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to report the news.

Which Teams Would Have Flexibility In Another Expansion Draft?

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Midway-through the 2017-18 NHL season, it is nearly impossible to predict what rosters could look like following the 2019-20 season, more than two years away. Trades, free agency, and much more shape teams often in ways that no one sees coming. With that said, it seems like another Expansion Draft is coming to add the league’s 32nd team, the Seattle __________, and the timeline most are suggesting is a June 2020 draft date. Like it or not, the general managers of the other 31 NHL need to be keeping that in the back of their mind with each move they make over the next two seasons.

However, it could be that some have already made decisions that could impact their roster protection plans more than two years from now. The structure of the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft will the remain the same, allowing for teams to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie or eight skaters regardless of position and one goalie from being selected. The one caveat that threw more than a few teams for a loop last June was that all players with No-Movement Clauses (NMC) in their contracts had to be protected, unless the players voluntarily chose to wave them i.e. Marc-Andre Fleury. So, with that one aspect of the expansion process in mind, it is possible to look ahead at certain long-term contracts to see, assuming those players don’t waive them ahead of time, who could be locked in for protection in 2020 or which teams will have more flexibility without any such players:

Total Flexibility

Arizona Coyotes (0) – The only NMC players on the Coyotes are defensemen Alex Goligoski and Niklas Hjalmarsson. Hjalmarsson will be a free agent in the summer of the projected Expansion Draft and Goligoski’s clause will have shifted to a Modified No-Trade Clause. Arizona will likely have complete flexibility.

Buffalo Sabres (0) – Kyle Okposo’s NMC expires after this season and Jason Pominville’s contract expires after next season. Buffalo won’t have any restrictions on their protection scheme as of now.

Calgary Flames (0) – There is no one on the roster with a NMC and no one that will predictably get one by the end of the 2019-20 season. Kudos to GM Brad Treliving.

Los Angeles Kings (0) – Kings’ captain Anze Kopitar in their only NMC player right now and even his clause will have shifted to No-Trade by 2020. L.A. is free and clear.

Nashville Predators (0) – GM David Poile does not seem to be a fan of NMC’s in his recent long-term deals and in the new NHL expansion era, that’s a good thing.

New Jersey Devils (0) – see Calgary Flames

New York Islanders (0) – The Andrew Ladd and Johnny Boychuk contracts already look bad for the Isles. They would be much worse if their NMC’s didn’t expire soon. With John Tavares and Josh Bailey both candidates for NMC’s should they re-sign in New York and a defense that needs a re-haul, the Islanders could lose some flexibility, but they should be fine.

Toronto Maple Leafs (0) – The Leafs have no NMC players under contract beyond 2019-20 right now. That could easily change with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander in need of extensions, but Toronto should still be in a good spot. After all, those are players that would protected regardless.

Vancouver Canucks (0) – Loui Eriksson’s NMC shifts to a No-Trade Clause following this season and will be an afterthought by 2020. It’s fortunate, as Eriksson’s tenure in Vancouver has not gone according to plan.

Vegas Golden Knights (0) – The Golden Knights didn’t sign or trade for any players with NMC’s and only drafted two – Marc-Andre Fleury and David Clarkson – who already had them and they both expire before the Knights would be set to become the NHL’s second-newest team. With that said, the current Knights’ roster will see a lot of turnover in the next two years and they may struggle to avoid NMC’s completely.

Washington Capitals (0) – GM Brian MacLellan has avoided NMC’s in any of his recent mega-deals. If he can do it again this summer in his attempt to re-sign (or replace) John Carlson, then the Caps will be in good shape for another round of expansion drafting.

Winnipeg Jets (0) – The NMC in Bryan Little’s contract will both kick in and expire between now and June 2020. The Jets should be left with a fully flexible lineup.

Some Flexibility

Boston Bruins (2) – There’s little concern that Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron will still be playing at a high level in two years. Their NMC’s should be a non-factor for Boston. If David Krejci and, especially, David Backes still had their NMC’s too at that time, there would be a real logjam up front. However, both will have shifted to Modified No-Trade Clauses by then, potentially saving the Bruins from making tough decisions about their many talented young forwards.

Carolina Hurricanes (1) – As important a job as he’s had in Carolina, Jordan Staal will never be the star forward that finally puts them over the top. If his NMC causes a problem in 2020, he could easily be traded to a contender to play a complementary role. The Hurricanes need to retain as many promising young forward assets as they can in hopes of one day finding that true superstar.

Colorado Avalanche (1) – There are mixed opinions on Erik Johnson, but he has a leadership role for the Avalanche and will be key in grooming a strong crop of up-and-coming defensive prospects. The Avs won’t lose sleep about having to protect him in expansion, especially if he’s still one of their top-pairing guys in two years.

Columbus Blue Jackets (1) – The Blue Jackets were one of the biggest losers in the most recent Expansion Draft. They might be smart to sell off Nick Foligno if there’s any risk that history repeats itself.

Dallas Stars (3) – Call it optimism about his play in his first season in Dallas, but the NMC for Alexander Radulov doesn’t seem like it will be a major issue even after a couple more years. Of course, Jamie Benn’s NMC will also be a non-factor. Ben Bishop on the other hand may not be the goalie the Stars would prefer to keep in two years. As of now, there’s no immediate competition though.

Detroit Red Wings (1) – Detroit only has one NMC player who will still be under contract in 2020-21 (and another season after that), but it’s Frans Nielsen, who has been a major disappointment for the team since coming over from the New York Islanders. He could throw a wrench in their plans if he continues his downward trend over the next two seasons.

Minnesota Wild (2) – The Ryan Suter and Zach Parise mega-deals will still be making an impact in 2020, but with most of the core locked up throughout that season and no other NMC contract likely on their way, Minnesota should be okay in the Expansion Draft.

Montreal Canadiens (2) – Even if the Canadiens continue to struggle through two more seasons, there will be few Habs fans that blame superstar goalie Carey Price. His NMC won’t be an issue because the team would never dream of leaving him exposed. Jeff Petry on the other hand could be a problem. Luckily (?), it doesn’t look like Montreal will have many defenders worth protecting even in the next couple of seasons.

Ottawa Senators (2) – Some things never change. The NMC’s for Bobby Ryan and Dion Phaneuf were problems for the Senators in this past Expansion Draft and they’ll likely be problems again next time around. If Phaneuf is traded between now and then, that alleviates some concern for Ottawa. Good luck moving the Ryan contract though.

Philadelphia Flyers (1) – Only Claude Giroux has and predictably will have an NMC come June 2020. That’s a pretty safe situation for Philly.

San Jose Sharks (1) – Marc-Edouard Vlasic plays a confident, stay-at-home defensive game that often ages nicely. He looks to be the only NMC in San Jose in 2020, which shouldn’t cause a stir.

St. Louis Blues (1) – Patrik Berglund will be on the wrong side of 30 and still under a NMC when the potential 2020 draft rolls around, but with the rest of their core signed long-term without NMC’s, the Blues should be pretty safe.

Tampa Bay Lightning (2) – Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman may be the two safest NMC contracts in the NHL. Fortunately, Ryan Callahan’s otherwise-problematic NMC expires just prior to projected 2020 Expansion Draft.

Little Flexibility

Anaheim Ducks (3) – Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Ryan Kesler will all be 35+ and still be NMC-protected in 2020. That’s a large chunk of your protected forwards to dedicate to players in the twilight of their careers. Some up-and-coming young talent could leave Anaheim again in this next Expansion Draft a la Shea Theodore.

Chicago Blackhawks (4) – The downside to signing all of your core players to long contracts with NMC’s could hit the Blackhawks hard in the next Expansion Draft. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will be well past 30 and Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith will be in their mid-to-late 30’s during the 2020-21 season, but all four will need to be protected ahead of that season, which could force other promising younger players out of Chicago’s protection scheme. At least they’ll narrowly avoid having an issue in net with Corey Crawford’s contract expiring prior.

Edmonton Oilers (2) – Milan Lucic and Kris Russell. Each two years older than they are now. Those aren’t exactly players that a team wants to be forced to keep. It’s foreseeable that one or both could have a negative impact on the team’s protection plan.

Florida Panthers (3) – The Panthers probably won’t mind having three players locked up come Expansion 2.0. The team knew what they were doing when they signed Keith Yandle long-term. Even in his mid-30’s, Yandle will be a reliable player and a leader for the young Florida defensive core. Sure, they considered asking him to waive his NMC this past June, but they never actually did. Yandle won’t be a major issue in two years unless his play falls off considerably. There should be no concern whatsoever over Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov, whose NMC’s kick in later on in their contracts. The same might not be true about Evgeni Dadonov, whose been somewhat underwhelming so far in Florida, but luckily his contract runs out just prior the probable draft date.

New York Rangers (4) – Although they will have near total control over their forwards, outside of Mika Zibanejad, the Rangers could be in a tough position with their protection schemes in net and on the blue line in 2020. Then-38-year-old Henrik Lundqvist will require protection, as will underachieving defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Marc Staal. New York is apparently readying themselves for somewhat of a rebuild, which could mean some of those players are traded beforehand. Otherwise New York could face quite the dilemma.

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) – It seems unlikely, even years from now and in their mid-30’s, that the NMC’s for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, or Phil Kessel would cause trouble for the Penguins. Injury-prone defenseman Kris Letang could be different though. Being forced to protect him after another two seasons of hard minutes could be difficult to swallow. Pittsburgh also has some work to do filling out the forward corps between now and 2020. GM Jim Rutherford would be well-served to avoid acquiring or handing out any further NMC’s.

Injury Notes: Palmieri, Zibanejad, Islanders, Boeser

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The New Jersey Devils will get an important player back tonight, as Kyle Palmieri has been activated from injured reserve. Palmieri had been out for the past dozen games with a broken foot. Taylor Hall, out the last two with a knee injury, is also expected to get back into the lineup when the Devils welcome the Anaheim Ducks to town.

Adam Henrique and Sami Vatanen will be facing their former teams for the first time, adding a little extra incentive on both sides. The Devils, who sit in second place in the competitive Metropolitan Division, already had scored five goals in each of their last two matchups with Western Conference opponents and will try to replicate that effort with some of their top players back on the ice.

  • The New York Rangers, currently trying to catch the Devils in the Metro, will welcome back their own offensive star tomorrow night when Mika Zibanejad returns from his concussion problems. Zibanejad has been out since November 26th, but was among the leaders on the team with 22 points through his first 24 games. The 24-year old center is rounding into an excellent offensive piece, and will skate between Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich upon his return.
  • The New York Islanders, not to be outdone by their Metro counterparts, also made a move to activate Thomas Hickey off injured reserve today. Unfortunately, it came along with the announcement that Calvin de Haan is headed to IR with his upper-body injury. You could see de Haan writhing in pain after breaking up a 2-on-1 opportunity in overtime against the Los Angeles Kings, though it’s not clear yet how much time he will miss.
  • Brock Boeser went for an MRI on his foot today after blocking a Mark Giordano shot, but all the team announced was that he avoided a fracture. That’s good news for the Vancouver Canucks, but still doesn’t answer when we’ll see Boeser back on the ice. The team will update further as more details become available.

Injury Updates: Canucks, Zibanejad, Capitals

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Vancouver hasn’t had much luck with the injury bug as of late with Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi, two-thirds of their top line, going down recently.  The bad news continued Friday as the Canucks announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Chris Tanev will be out two-to-three weeks as a result of a groin strain.  That is undoubtedly a big blow to their back end as he logs nearly 21 minutes per game of ice time while playing a shutdown role.  Alex Biega will likely draw into the lineup as his replacement but he hasn’t seen any action in more than three weeks.

Canucks head coach Travis Green also provided further updates on a couple of players.  Center Brandon Sutter is still seven-to-ten days away from returning from his upper-body injury while blueliner Erik Gudbranson is the closest to returning; he has been out with an upper-body issue of his own since November 22nd.

Other injury notes from around the NHL:

  • Mika Zibanejad’s return to the lineup will have to wait a little while longer. The Rangers have ruled him out of their next two games, reports NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman via Twitter.  The plan is for the center to practice on Monday and then the team will re-evaluate his status from there.  Zibanejad last played on November 26th and has been dealing with concussion-like symptoms since then but he still sits third in team scoring with 22 points in 24 games.
  • Capitals winger T.J. Oshie took part in a partial practice today but will not suit up tomorrow night against Anaheim, reports Callie Caplan of the Washington Post. As a result, he’ll miss his sixth straight game.  From the same report, defenseman Brooks Orpik is dealing with an upper-body issue.  He’s set to be re-evaluated tomorrow but it seems likely that he will also miss Saturday’s contest.  Washington doesn’t have enough salary cap space to call anyone up but they have one extra defender on their roster so they still should be able to ice a full lineup.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: New York Rangers

at CDT | by 3 Comments

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. So far we’ve covered the following teams: ANA, ARZ, BOS, BUF, CGY, CAR, CBJ, COL, DET, FLA, LAK,  NSH, NJD, NYI, STL, TOR, and VAN.

What are the Rangers most thankful for?

That it’s a long season.

What could have been a disastrous start to the season after the team began the year with a 3-7-2 record and there was talk of the team firing coach Alain Vigneault. However, that talk died away after the team won six in a row and has gone 12-4 since that point as they now sport a 15-11-2 record. With the fortune of playing in a busy Metropolitan Division, the team is regaining ground in hopes of reaching the playoffs again this year. Granted, they aren’t there yet, but the Rangers have seen some success and are trending in the right direction.

Who are the Rangers most thankful for?

Mika Zibanejad.

Not that Derek Stepan was that great of a center to begin with, but there were many questions after the team traded away their number one center to Arizona whether anyone could fill that void. Yet Zibanejad has done just that. He is tied for the team in points with 22 and is the team’s second-leading scorer. The 24-year-old, despite a recent concussion injury, has taken control of the team’s top power play unit and penalty killing units and has been a key piece to the Rangers future. After putting up just 37 points in 56 games last year, Zibanejad should easily be able to surpass that this year.

What would the Rangers be even more thankful for?

That goaltender Henrik Lundqvist finds the fountain of youth. At age 35, the veteran netminder’s best days are likely behind him, but the team still needs the veteran to hold up for a few years more, most especially this year. Through 24 games, Lundqvist has a 2.77 GAA and a .916 save percentage, but much of that was his early season struggles as he carried a 3.21 GAA and a .898 save percentage in the month of October. His November was much stronger, however, with a much more respectable 2.34 GAA and a .927 save percentage. If he can maintain numbers like that, then the Rangers have a good chance of climbing up higher in the standings and earning a playoff spot.

What should be on the Rangers’ Holiday Wish List?

The continued development of their youth. A lot of hope for a solid youth movement came and went at the start of the season when it looked like 2017 first-rounders Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil would make the Rangers roster out of training camp. Instead, Andersson was deemed not ready and sent back to Sweden, while Chytil made the team, but struggled and was reassigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. The team had high hopes for Andersson especially as the Rangers traded Stepan for his rights and young defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, who also struggled in New York, and now plays in Hartford as well. So far, trading away Stepan hasn’t shown much, even if it might in the future.

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