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Scott Hartnell

Scott Hartnell Not Asked To Waive NMC

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The Columbus Blue Jackets did not ask veteran forward Scott Hartnell to waive his No-Movement Clause before the NHL’s deadline today, reports the Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline. NHL teams had until 5pm EST today to ask players to waive any NMCs before the expansion draft. Because teams must use a protection slot to protect any player with an NMC, some teams may ask players to waive the clause to free up a protection slot.

The non-waiver is significant because Columbus is one of the few teams who may lose a significant piece in the expansion draft. Portzline believes that the non-move implies Columbus has either agreed to a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights, or that Columbus will buy out Hartnell’s contract.

Right now Columbus has three forward slots tied up in Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, and Hartnell. Assuming Columbus protects 7F / 3d / 1G (because of Seth Jones, Ryan Murray, and David Savard), the team only has four spots for Brandon Saad, Cam Atkinson, Boone Jenner, Matt Calvert, William Karlsson, Alexander Wennberg, and Josh Anderson. The consensus is that absent any sort of deal, Josh Anderson represents the best bet to go to Vegas. However, if Columbus and Vegas have a deal worked out, the Blue Jackets may be able to either keep Anderson, or receive some assets for him.

The other option is that Columbus buys out Hartnell, making the veteran a free agent. Buying him out would give Columbus an extra protection slot to use on one of its young forwards. According to Portzline, buying out Hartnell would save Columbus $2.5MM over two seasons, and open up $3.25MM in cap space next year. Hartnell scored 13G and 24A in 78 games this year.

Blue Jackets Must Convince Hartnell To Waive NMC

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The Columbus Blue Jackets expansion hopes will come down to one key question: Will Scott Hartnell agree to waive his No Movement Clause. At least that’s what Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch writes about their prospects of losing some young talent.

The Blue Jackets are likely to use the seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie option for their protection list. At forward, it’s expected the team will protect Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennberg, Brandon Saad, Nick Foligno, Brandon Dubinsky, Boone Jenner and, at the moment, Hartnell.

The team might have to expose several young players with potential in winger Josh Anderson and center William Karlsson. The team especially doesn’t want to lose Anderson, who scored 17 goals in his first full season of NHL action, and at 23 years old is likely to keep improving and give the team a consistent 20-goal scorer for many years.

Karlsson, 24, hasn’t come on as quickly as Anderson with just 15 goals in two full seasons, but the Blue Jackets believe he is capable of putting up big offensive numbers. While the team has made it clear it doesn’t want to lose him, he may end up being expendable with the development of center prospects Pierre-Luc Dubois (the third overall pick in 2016) and Kevin Stenlund (second-round pick in 2015).

No matter what, Hartnell’s NMC will force the team to protect the 35-year-old declining veteran and that could lead to the team exposing one of those prospects. Hartnell still has two more years on his contract at $4.75MM and his numbers keep going south. Since acquiring the veteran in 2014, Hartnell scored 28 goals in his first season with Columbus, 23 seasons in 2015-16 and just 13 goals this past season.

The scribe writes that there are many reasons that Hartnell might not agree to waive his no clause, including his love for the city, that he plans to be married this summer and has stated he’d like to settle down in Columbus. At 35, Hartnell would also like a chance at a Stanley Cup as well, which is more likely to happen in Columbus than in Las Vegas in the next few years.

Hartnell, however, could agree to waive his NMC as it’s unlikely that Las Vegas would opt to take a declining veteran with a large contract and the Blue Jackets’ chances of long-term success might be damaged if Las Vegas takes one of those young players. It’s also possible, Columbus could just buy out Hartnell to avoid losing Anderson.

Portzline also suggests that GM Jarmo Kekalainen and George McPhee might have already worked out an agreement with the Las Vegas Golden Knights to avoid some of those prospects as that is a common practice before expansion drafts.

Snapshots: Sedlak, Alzner, Polak

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The Columbus Blue Jackets will try a little tinkering to keep them alive in their playoff series against the defending champs. Lukas Sedlak will draw back into the lineup in place of Scott Hartnell, while Matt Calvert, Kyle Quincey and Markus Nutivaara will all play according to a TSN report.

Sedlak will be making his NHL playoff debut after a rookie season that saw him contribute 13 points in 62 games. The 24-year old was a huge part of the Lake Erie (now Cleveland) Monsters’ Calder Cup win last year, with 16 points in 17 AHL playoff games. Perhaps he can provide some of that magic as the Blue Jackets attempt to stave off elimination for one more game.

  • Karl Alzner won’t play in game four of the Capitals-Maple Leafs series according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The pending unrestricted free agent sat out their game three overtime loss and was a noticeable absence. Though Nate Schmidt skated well, Alzner had previously been tasked with shutting down the Auston Matthews line, and without him they had their way with the Capitals. Scoring two goals and dominating possession—shot attempts were an insane 23-5 when William Nylander was on the ice—the Capitals need to find a way to slow down that line even without Alzner in the lineup.
  • Roman Polak will undergo surgery today to repair a broken right leg suffered on Saturday night. While there is no timetable for his return, he’ll likely try to make it back for the start of the 2017-18 season. Where he’ll be playing is still undecided, as he will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. After an up-and-down season with the Leafs, he’ll be hard pressed to secure the same $2.25MM salary he earned this year.

Morning Notes: Draft, RFAs, Galchenyuk

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Craig Button of TSN updated his rankings for the NHL Entry Draft, and there is big movement among the first round. After Timothy Liljegren has remained in the conversation for top-3 for so long, Button has now dropped him to eighth, as he struggles to find ice time in Sweden. Martin Necas slides into the spot following Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier, as Button compares the Czech center to a young Claude Giroux.

Cale Makar from the AJHL has made his way into the top five, an impressive feat for someone playing in a “lesser league”. Button doesn’t consider this a problem, as he is focused on evaluating where they will be at the next level, not their current competition. Makar has 75 points in 54 games as a defenseman, and has received many comparisons to Erik Karlsson in the way that he handles the puck.

  • Columbus extended three restricted free agents yesterday when they inked Markus Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak and Scott Harrington to two-year deals. The team still has three RFAs left for this summer, and according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch the Blue Jackets aren’t worried about signing them. Alexander Wennberg, Josh Anderson and Joonas Korpisalo all require new deals, and the Jackets are going to be tight on money once again. Depending on who is taken at the expansion draft, they may have to consider some sort of salary dump—like Scott Hartnell, who will be scratched tonight in favor of Sedlak—in order to keep their cap structure in tact.
  • The Montreal Canadiens experienced a heartbreaking loss last night to one of the worst teams in the conference when they fell 2-1 in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings. Again their expected top line of Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Alexander Radulov was broken up in the third period, something that has become far too common. Eric Engels of Sportsnet writes about how Galchenyuk in particular had a rough night, and doesn’t seem to mesh well with Radulov in terms of play style. The young forward had a breakout 30-goal campaign last season, but has struggled all year with his consistency and defensive play. With just nine games remaining until the playoffs, most first-place teams don’t have the kind of doubt Montreal is feeling with their #1 centerman.

Injury Updates: Blues, Marner, Hartnell, Schultz, Bernier

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The Blues will be getting center Kyle Brodziak back in their lineup earlier than expected.  The team announced that they’ve activated him off of injured reserve two weeks ahead of schedule.  Brodziak suffered a foot injury three weeks ago and was expected to be out until the end of the month but he recovered quicker than expected.  The 32 year old has ten points (4-6-10) in 47 games with St. Louis this season.  To make room for him on the roster, the team assigned center Wade Megan back to Chicago of the AHL.

Still with the Blues, center Paul Stastny is expected to travel with the team to Buffalo in advance of their games against the Sabres tomorrow, notes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  He remains day-to-day for the time being with a lower body injury.  If Stastny is ready to return, another player will have to be sent back to the AHL to make room for him.

Other injury updates from around the league:

  • Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner is day-to-day as a result of a shoulder injury sustained on Wednesday in Columbus, notes Jonas Siegel of the Canadian Press. However, he hasn’t been ruled out of the lineup for tomorrow’s game against the Senators.  Marner is tied for first overall in rookie scoring (with Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine) this season with 48 points (15-33-48) in 56 games.  Still with Toronto, winger Nikita Soshnikov is nearing a return from his upper body injury and could be in the lineup against Ottawa.
  • Columbus left winger Scott Hartnell will miss his second straight game tonight with a lower body injury, reports Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link). The injury was originally sustained on Monday night against the Rangers.  That means that right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand will get at least one more game after being recalled on an emergency basis on Tuesday.  Hartnell has spent a lot of time on the fourth line for the Blue Jackets this season but has been rather productive in that role, picking up 30 points (13-17-30) in 55 games.
  • The Penguins continue to get tough news from the infirmary. After it was noted earlier today that Olli Maatta will miss six weeks as he recovers from hand surgery, the team announced via Twitter that blueliner Justin Schultz is dealing with a concussion and is in concussion protocol.  There’s no timetable for his return to the lineup.  Schultz is having a career year in his first season with Pittsburgh with 39 points (9-30-39) in 56 games.  That point total ranks sixth overall among NHL defenders.
  • Ducks netminder Jonathan Bernier is dealing with an illness, reports Elliott Teaford of the Southern California News Group (Twitter link). However, the team is hopeful that he will still be able to serve as the backup tonight to John Gibson as Anaheim takes on Florida.

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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Snapshots: Hartnell, Lundqvist, Las Vegas, Connauton

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News and from around the NHL:

  • Columbus Blue Jacket’s Scott Hartnell has rescinded his offer to waive his no-movement clause—and with it retracts his list of preferred teams. Hartnell agreed to waive his no-movement clause earlier this summer so that Columbus could explore potential trade options. Hartnell still has three years left on his contract that pays him $4.75MM a year. While that isn’t necessarily excessive, Columbus has the cap space of a playoff team rather than the lottery team it was last season. Hartnell still scored 23G and 26A in 79 games for the Blue Jackets, but the team could not find any deals they liked over the summer.
  • Henrik Lundqvist’s workload may reduce this season as the veteran goalie enters his twelfth season. Newsday reports that New York Rangers Coach Alain Vigneault is considering reducing his star goalie to between 50-58 starts this season. Backup Antti Raanta will be expected to shoulder the increased workload. Raanta was 11-6-2 with a .919SV% and a 2.25GAA last year. The plan is to rest Lundqvist for a potential deep playoff run and to balance against his increasing age and starter role for Sweden in the World Cup of Hockey. His reduction could be the first of a few across the league as teams guard their prized goaltenders from injury.
  • The Las Vegas NHL Expansion Team signed a 20-year lease to build a practice facility just outside the Las Vegas strip. The facility will be located in Summerlin, which is northwest of the city center and in the Las Vegas Valley. It is approximately a 30m drive to the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas’s home arena.
  • Arizona Coyotes Kevin Connauton will miss the start of the team’s training camp because of a lower body injury. Connauton scored 4G and 5A in 38 games for the Coyotes after the team picked him up off of waiver from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The rugged defensemenn will be battling for a bottom-pairing role in camp alongside Luke Schenn, Zbynek Michalek, and others.

Five Questions: Columbus Blue Jackets

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The Columbus Blue Jackets were picked as a sleeper threat by many last season but instead struggled from start to finish, ending the year in dead last in the Metropolitan Division.  They haven’t changed much with their roster over the summer but are hoping a healthier squad with a return to form from some key veterans will lead to better results in 2016-17.

Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch was kind enough to chat with us about the key questions and storylines surrounding the team as we head towards the start of the season.

PHR: The decision to draft Pierre-Luc Dubois third overall over Jesse Puljujarvi back in June was a shocker to many.  Why did GM Jarmo Kekalainen feel he was the better fit for the Blue Jackets?

AP: Many will point to the fact that Dubois played center for a half-season in major junior, and the need for a skilled center has been significant since the trade of Ryan Johansen to Nashville. But the answer is much simpler than that. They just like Dubois better as a prospect. They like his motor, his work ethic, his personality, the straightforward style of his play. This is going to be an easy one to track — Puljujarvi vs. Dubois — in the years that follow, but I give the Blue Jackets and Kekalainen credit for taking the guy they believed was the right pick, even though it subjected them to ridicule. If the Blue Jackets had done that in 2005 — they had Anze Kopitar No. 3 on their list before Doug MacLean chickened out — they would have drafted Kopitar, not Gilbert Brule.

PHR: Columbus is likely to have several players from their Calder Cup winning squad last year up with the big club in 2016-17.  Who are some of the youngsters that are likely to push for a roster spot?

AP: Unless Zach Werenski has a poor training camp, he’s on the club. Josh Anderson and Oliver Bjorkstrand need good camps to make the club, but both could do it. I think Sonny Milano needs more seasoning, but he could blow people away in camp. If I’m the Blue Jackets, I want to see Milano playing like an offensive star in the AHL — that’s his profile, right? — before he’s called up to the NHL. One of the two young goaltenders, Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg, will likely make the club as Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup, putting the other youngster and Curtis McElhinney back to AHL.

PHR: The core of this team didn’t change much this offseason.  Why should fans be confident that the Jackets can rebound after finishing in the Metropolitan Division basement last year?

AP: Frankly, they shouldn’t be. I’m not saying they won’t climb out of the basement; in fact, I suspect they will. But this club has made a habit out of crushing the fans’ hopes right out of the gate. Last five years combined, in the first 20 games of the season, the Blue Jackets are 30-60-10. Season over. There are plenty of cynical, pessimistic fans in Columbus. They’re the ones who will be pleasantly surprised if this club actually plays up to its ability and becomes a consistently competitive NHL franchise. It’s long overdue.

PHR: There have been rumors dating back to last season that the team has been shopping Scott Hartnell.  Do you expect him to continue to be on the trade block into 2016-17 and will they be able to move him at some point?

AP: I don’t think anything has changed that would take him off the trade market. It’s an awkward spot, to be sure, because now the whole world knows that his team has tried to trade him. Hartnell is an old-school guy. He’s a professional. He can block this stuff out and play. But I can’t imagine he’s as excited about being in Columbus as he expected to be two years ago when he waived his no-trade clause to facilitate the trade. Remember, he came here because he expected playoff runs, rivalries, big games. There’s been none of that. If the Blue Jackets are out of it at the trade deadline, and Hartnell has remained productive, I think they’ll be able to move him then.

PHR: What would you peg as the biggest strength and weakness for the Blue Jackets?

AP: Biggest strength? The entire organization should have a massive chip on their shoulder. They’ve had back to back unacceptable seasons, despite being a salary cap team in a small market. In 2014-15, they used injuries as an excuse, even though hockey players and coaches always say it’s never an excuse. Last season … no excuses. They should be motivated — if not by pride or competitive spirit — by embarrassment. The spirit of this group will be interesting to monitor. Weakness? The franchise goaltender has a chronic groin condition that has sidetracked three straight seasons now. Can Bobrovsky get past this? Huge question in Columbus. If the answer is ’yes’, the Blue Jackets are competitive. If the answer is ’no’, the Blue Jackets have big trouble.

Aaron Portzline has been with the Dispatch since 1988 and has covered the NHL since 1999.  He is currently the Chair of the Columbus Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and we thank him for taking the time to talk with us.  Give him a follow on Twitter at @Aportzline.

Blue Jackets Agree To Contract With Seth Jones

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With rumors swirling last night about a possible Jacob Trouba offer sheet, the Columbus Blue Jackets have reportedly taken that option off the table with Seth Jones, their own high-prized RFA defenceman, says Darren Dreger of TSN and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.  Chris Johnston of Sportsnet tells us that it’s worth $5.4MM per season, for six seasons.  Cap Friendly also tells us that the deal includes a limited no-trade clause in years five and six. Jones will submit a list of 10 teams he cannot be traded to.

Last week we speculated on the possibility of Jones receiving an offer-sheet because of the tight cap situation that the Blue Jackets are in, combined with his elite potential as a top-pairing shutdown defender. While GM Jarmo Kekalainen came out to say that they would match any offer sheet submitted, it would have been extremely difficult for the team to do so without having plans to move some contracts out.

If they truly have come to an agreement, it must mean that the Jackets have figured out at least a plan for what they’re to do this offseason. Currently less than $6MM from the cap (before the Jones hit), they have been trying to move out bad contracts desperately and had conversations with Edmonton on the draft floor. David Clarkson, Scott Hartnell and Fedor Tyutin all have big money left on their contracts and have performed terribly in recent years.

For Jones, this represents the first big money deal of his career after going fourth overall in the 2013 draft.  While he was hidden down an outstanding depth chart in Nashville, a mid-season trade brought him to Columbus where he is expected to take over on the top pairing with either Ryan Murray or Jack Johnson. Suddenly, the Blue Jacket blueline looks mighty intimidating with David Savard and Dalton Prout rounding out the group.

Friedman’s Latest: Hartnell, Eriksson, Barrie

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Although the Montreal Canadiens failed to move up in the lottery last month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that they may try to make a deal to improve on their ninth overall pick.  After picking late in the first round the last three seasons, Montreal will try to replicate the success they’ve had with their last couple of top-10 picks.  In 2012 they selected Alex Galchenyuk third overall, and nailed Carey Price at number five way back in 2005. If Montreal wants to get back to the playoffs and have any chance at contention, they’ll have to improve through the draft.  Here’s more from Friedman’s latest 30 thoughts:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets interviewed quite a few players ahead of selecting third overall in the upcoming draft. With rumors swirling that they are already getting offers for the pick, perhaps they’re just covering their bases before one of these deals blows them away.
  • Still with Columbus, Friedman hears that there are trade rumblings around Scott Hartnell and that he is willing to waive his no-movement clause for several teams. Hartnell has three seasons at $4.75MM left on his deal, but put up another 20-goal season in 2015-16 and is a near-lock for 40 points at least for the immediate future.
  • On Loui Eriksson, Friedman says that Boston will take one final run at re-signing the winger before he becomes a free agent on July 1st.  If he makes it that far, expect a long list of suitors for the 30-year old after putting up an excellent 63 point campaign. He’s coming off a contract that earned him $4.25MM a season, and will look to improve on that number.
  • It seems certain that Avalanche defenceman Tyson Barrie will be on the move this summer, but perhaps not until Colorado secures some help on the back-end.  Their top target is Winnipeg Jets’ Jacob Trouba, who has played well since being drafted in 2012 and would take a fairly large ransom to pry away from GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.
  • After acquiring Marc Savard’s cap hit on Friday, the New Jersey Devils are no longer a landing spot for the Pavel Datsyuk dilemma should he decide to go back to Russia.  According to Friedman this leaves only Carolina and Arizona as potential takers for the $7.5MM cap-hit he’ll incur since he signed his deal after he turned 35.
  • Since Florida now has some room following the jettison of Savard’s hit, they’ve turned their attention to extending Vincent Trocheck. The 22-year old is a restricted free agent this summer, and is coming off an impressive 53 point season.  With extensions for Aaron Ekblad and Reilly Smith due next year, Florida will have to keep Trocheck’s hit as low as possible if they’re to fit in all their young talent.
  • Arizona is reluctantly looking at options with C Martin Hanzal as he nears free agency.  While the Coyotes would like to re-sign him before he hits the market next summer, they are considering moving him and have asked for his list of teams he would accept a trade to.

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