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Rasmus Asplund

Morning Notes: Thanksgiving Standings, Sabres Injuries, Rodrigues

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A very happy Thanksgiving to all of our U.S. readers! Thanksgiving, in any country, is a date with great significance for many of the same reasons: a chance to reflect and be thankful. However, in the hockey world, Thanksgiving in the U.S. brings another note of significance: playoffs. Sure, it’s early, most teams playing somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 games, but history dictates that teams in the playoffs today are likely to be there after 82 games, and teams that are not, probably won’t be playing after their 82 are finished. In fact, Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards tweets that roughly 76% of teams in a playoff position on Thanksgiving keep it. So, it begs the question: which teams on the outside looking in today will make the playoffs?  And who might lose their spot?

In the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings hold playoff positions in their respective divisions, with the New York Rangers holding the first Wild Card spot and the Tampa Bay Lightning tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second spot. In the West, the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, Seattle Kraken, and Los Angeles Kings hold playoff positions in their respective divisions, with the Calgary Flames holding the first Wild Card spot, followed by a four-way tie for second place between the St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, and Nashville Predators. Will the standings hold? Nick Alberga of The Leafs Nation points out, 12 of the 16 teams in playoff position this time last year ultimately clinched a berth.

  • The Buffalo Sabres should get a pair of wingers back shortly, says Bill Hoppe of the Buffalo Hockey Beat. Per Sabres head coach Don Granato, Rasmus Asplund, who’s listed as day-to-day may have been able to play last night, but given his physical style of play, it was better to let him continue to rest. Captain Kyle Okposo, who has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury, skated on his own Wednesday and is expected to join the team on Friday for their morning skate. After losing eight straight, the Sabres have now won two in a row. Getting their full lineup back on the ice should, hopefully, help them continue on this winning path.
  • Colorado Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues left last night’s game early with what appeared to be a lower-body injury and was ultimately ruled out for the rest of the game. From Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar says Rodrigues will be further evaluated today. One of the newest members of the Avalanche, Rodrigues has fit in with Colorado nicely since coming over in free agency this summer, registering six goals and three assists in 18 games so far.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson To Play In World Championship

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After a disappointing season in Vancouver, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is set to head overseas for a few weeks. The team announced today he’ll join Team Sweden for the upcoming 2022 IIHF World Championship.

Ekman-Larsson had a near career-low season, although his lows were previously set in shortened seasons. While he did improve defensively from his last few years in Arizona, he had just five goals and 29 points on the year, the only time he hasn’t hit 30+ points when playing 50+ games.

The veteran defenseman will look to reset this offseason, as the Canucks are still on the hook for his retained-salary $7.26MM cap hit through 2027.

Ekman-Larsson joins fellow NHLers Rasmus Dahlin, Erik Gustafsson, and Adam Larsson on the blueline. Other NHLers slated to join team Sweden are Rasmus Asplund, Emil Bemstrom, and Magnus Hellberg.

The tournament will run from May 13 to May 29.

Morning Notes: Barzal, Sabres, Yelesin

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After the now-infamous departure of John Tavares from the New York Islanders via free agency, all eyes on Long Island turned to promising young center Mathew Barzal to fill the void and lead the team’s offense to continued success. Needless to say, he’s succeeded, notching 311 points in 362 games so far in his young career. This season is the first time the team won’t win a playoff round since Barzal took over the no. 1 center role, and it’ll also be the first time they won’t make the playoffs at all.

As all eyes turn toward the future, though, fans will notice Barzal has one season left on his three-year, $21MM bridge deal he signed prior to 2020-21. With him once again being a restricted free agent, Barzal left the door open on a long-term extension after exit interviews, via James Nichols of The Fourth Period. While he’s yet to replicate his 85-point rookie season, he’s still chugged along at a 60+ point pace every season since then. Knowing general manager Lou Lamoriello, a long-term extension is likely something he’s interested in as well. But it’s unclear how much Barzal’s cap hit will change, considering the lack of significant offensive development during his bridge deal – does he still project to hit the 80-90 point plateau again, or is he an extremely strong no. 2 center on a Cup winner as his recent point totals suggest?

  • A report out of Sweden via HockeyNews.se today says that Buffalo Sabres forward Rasmus Asplund plans to join the team for the upcoming 2022 IIHF World Championship. Asplund played in 80 out of 82 games this season in Buffalo, setting new career highs with eight goals, 19 assists, and 27 points. He also took leaps and bounds defensively this season, showing signs he can develop into a true shutdown forward for the Sabres. Defenseman Henri Jokiharju also announced he’ll be joining Finland at the same tournament.
  • A former Calgary Flames prospect is staying in Russia for two more seasons. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL announced today they’ve reached a two-year extension with defenseman Alexander Yelesin, who appeared in four games with the Flames during 2019-20, recording no points. An undrafted free agent, the defensive defenseman played just two seasons in North America before the Flames opted to leave him unsigned. The team still retains his rights if he ever decides to return to the NHL, but that won’t come until 2024-25 at the soonest when he’ll be 28 years old.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Rasmus Asplund, Ryan MacInnis

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The Buffalo Sabres have tidied up some restricted free agent business, signing Rasmus Asplund to a two-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $825K. The team has also announced a one-year $750K contract for free agent forward Ryan MacInnis. The 25-year-old qualified for Group VI unrestricted free agency this year.

Asplund, 23, was actually one of the forwards that the Sabres protected from the Seattle Kraken in the recent expansion draft despite having just 57 games under his belt at the NHL level. That number is likely to increase quite a bit this year as he competes for a full-time role, though it remains to be seen if the young forward can continue to produce at the highest level. Selected 33rd overall in 2016, he scored seven goals and 11 points in 28 games this season after spending time in Sweden at the start of the year.

While he may not have much experience yet, Asplund is obviously well-liked by the Sabres front office and a two-year deal gives them the potential of plenty of excess value. If he is given a full-time role and breaks out, they have him locked up at a low-cost next year instead of dealing with arbitration. Even if he struggles, the entire cap hit can be buried in the minor leagues (though he would have to clear waivers for that to happen).

For MacInnis, Buffalo represents a fresh start and a chance at NHL minutes. In 16 games this season for the Blue Jackets, he failed to register a point, and now is still looking for his first NHL goal after 26 games. Son of legendary defenseman Al MacInnis, 6’4″ forward has never lived up to his second-round draft pedigree, struggling to even make much of an impact at the minor league level. Still, his size and defensive polish have given him a handful of NHL contests and could result in even more time on a rebuilding Buffalo squad.

Rasmus Asplund Loaned To Vasteras IK

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The Buffalo Sabres have loaned one of their young forwards overseas, sending Rasmus Asplund to Vasteras IK of the Swedish second league. Asplund had been training with the team for months but is now officially allowed to play in games until NHL training camps start.

Asplund, 22, played in 29 games for the Sabres this season, recording his first three NHL points. The 33rd overall pick in 2016, he has 69 points in 108 AHL games over the past two years and is a real candidate to grab a full-time roster spot in Buffalo for 2020-21. Getting some more development time in Sweden will only help that goal, given the uncertainty around the upcoming AHL season.

The young forward is heading into the final year of his entry-level contract, meaning he’ll need a new deal next summer when he becomes a restricted free agent for the first time. You can bet he’d like some more NHL experience to use in those negotiations, though Asplund will not be arbitration-eligible. For now, he’ll play in a league he skipped entirely when he moved from the junior ranks directly to the SHL as a teenager.

Buffalo’s Rasmus Asplund Expected To Be Loaned To Allsvenskan

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The Sabres are in talks with Vasteras of the Allsvenskan in Sweden regarding a loan agreement forward Rasmus Asplund, notes Henrik Sjoberg of HockeyNews.se.  If completed, the loan would be until NHL training camps get underway which, as things stand, is projected to be sometime in November.

It was a tale of two seasons for the 22-year-old who was a high second-round pick back in 2016. He was reasonably productive with AHL Rochester where he had 19 points (3-16-19) in 33 games.  That helped him earn a couple of stints in Buffalo but he struggled offensively, collecting just a single goal with two assists in 29 contests.  He did, however, take a regular turn on the penalty kill at the very least, averaging 1:46 per game in that situation.

On the surface, it may seem odd that someone with aspirations of landing a full-time NHL roster spot would opt to go to a second-division team in Sweden but doing so would allow him to play a bigger role offensively.  A good start over there could help him carry some momentum into Buffalo’s training camp which might be enough to help him earn a spot.  Otherwise, a return to Rochester would be in the cards for 2020-21 as Asplund remains exempt from waivers.

Buffalo has already taken advantage of the opportunity to loan out some of their prospects as goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (TPS Turku) and center Arttu Ruotsalainen (Ilves) have both found places to start next season.  It looks as if Asplund will be the next one from the Sabres to go that route.

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