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Metro Division Snapshots: Islanders, Raffl, Crosby, Grubauer

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It was recently suggested that the New York Islanders could look to exercise an opt-out clause in their lease and leave Barclays Center following the 2017-18 campaign. The team’s first year in the arena didn’t go as smoothly as hoped with obstructed sight lines and the poor condition of the ice drawing heavy criticism. However, with new ownership in place for the Islanders and a concerted effort on the part of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment to address the concerns related to Barclays Center, it appears as if the relationship between the team and the arena’s operator is in a better spot today, as Brian Heyman writes for Newsday.

Brett Yormark, CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, was at the Islanders’ home-opener on Sunday and “got an overall positive vibe” from fans in attendance, and said about the fan reaction: “A little bit different tone than last year.”

According to Heyman, Barclays added additional Islanders “imagery and branding,” at the arena as well as beefing up on Islanders merchandise in the team store. Additionally, they’ve brought aboard an “ice technician” to help keep the ice in good playing condition. Those efforts did not go unnoticed by team co-owner Jon Ledecky:

“I think fans have already talked to us after the opening day that they feel like it’s our home now. Just the whole feel of the building in our second season — Barclays has worked hard to make our fans feel like it’s their home. And I really appreciate that.”

Despite the progress, the Islanders still could exercise their opt-out after the 2017-18 season though that might appear less likely than it did just a few weeks ago, as Ledecky notes:

“We’re in a great relationship with Barclays now. No one has a crystal ball about the future. We’re moving forward in our relationship with them in a very positive framework.”

Elsewhere in the Metro Division:

  • Flyers LW Michael Raffl was forced to exit the team’s 7 – 4 loss to Chicago Tuesday night with an abdominal pull, according to Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly. He suffered the injury during the second period when he absorbed a body check along the boards. Raffl, who has one goal so far this season in three contests, was the only Flyer to suit up for all 82 games in 2015-16 and finished fifth on the club in goals with 13. It’s not clear at this point how long the Austrian winger will be out.
  • Sidney Crosby, who has yet to appear in a game this season for Pittsburgh due to a concussion, could return to practice Wednesday, writes Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Head coach Mike Sullivan indicated Crosby’s response to a workout Tuesday would determine when he would return to the ice with his teammates. Seth Rorabaugh of DKPittsburghSports.com noted via Twitter, however, that Crosby was not among the early participants at the team’s practice, though that could certainly change.
  • Due to the compressed schedule this season, Washington Capitals backup goalie Philipp Grubauer is in line to see more action between the pipes this season, as Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post observes. Grubauer started just 16 of the 22 games he appeared in during the 2015-16 season but according to Capitals head coach Barry Trotz, he could end up starting one-quarter of the team’s contests this year: “I said to the goaltenders, if I could go Grubi one game and then Holts three, that type of situation, that would be in the perfect world what I’d like to do.” That split would see Grubauer receive 20 – 21 starts over the course of a full season. As Khurshudyan notes, Grubauer typically catches the second end of back-to-backs and the Capitals are scheduled to have 16 of those this year. Braden Holtby started 66 times in 2015-16, down from 73 starts the year prior, and Trotz would like to see a further decrease this season: “I think it’s important for the whole journey that we get the right number of games and keep both goalies sharp and not overwork guys. I thought last year with Holts, we did a better job of that than we did the year before. I’d like to do a better job in that area than we did last year even.” 

Injury Notes: Schwartz, Crosby, Hartman, Bitetto, McGinn

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St. Louis forward Jaden Schwartz has started skating as he continues to recover from an elbow injury sustained late in September, Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.  While he will accompany the team on their road trip to Western Canada early next week, he still isn’t ready just yet to return to the lineup.

Schwartz was originally expected to miss at least a month with the injury and it’s about halfway into that timeline currently.  Head coach Ken Hitchcock doesn’t have a firm expectation of when Schwartz should return to the lineup but it would appear he’s pretty much on schedule at this time.

With the departures of David Backes and Troy Brouwer this offseason, Schwartz will be expected to take on a larger role in the offense for the Blues this year.  In an injury-riddled 2015-16 campaign, he had 22 points in 33 games but put up point totals of 63 and 56 in the previous two seasons.  St. Louis inked him to a five year, $26.75MM extension back in July.

Other injury news and notes from around the league:

  • Penguins center Sidney Crosby skated on his own for the fifth straight day after being diagnosed with a concussion back on Monday, Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Head coach Mike Sullivan is encouraged by Crosby’s progress but there remains no timetable for his return to game action.  He has yet to receive the green light to participate in contact drills.
  • Chicago right winger Ryan Hartman suffered a lower body injury in a goalmouth scramble in just his second shift in Friday’s loss to Nashville, Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times notes. Head coach Joel Quenneville didn’t provide a projected timeframe for his return but added that Hartman will “miss some time”.  The 22 year old has a goal and an assist in two games so far this season.
  • Predators defenseman Anthony Bitetto suffered an upper body injury in a fight against Nashville’s Jordin Tootoo on Friday night. He left the game and did not return.  Thomas Willis of the Predators website reports (via Twitter) that he will not play tonight.  Instead, Yannick Weber will make his season debut.  Bitetto is expected to be re-evaluated on Monday.
  • Coyotes left winger Jamie McGinn will have to wait a little while longer to make his regular season debut with Arizona as he continues to recover from an upper body injury, AZ Central’s Sarah McLellan notes via Twitter. Head coach Dave Tippett said he remains day-to-day and that it’s questionable that he will travel with the team for their upcoming Eastern Conference road trip next week.

Snapshots: Malkin, Athanasiou, Subban

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Penguins writer Sam Kasan reports that with Sidney Crosby out for indefinitely, the Penguins are looking at Evgeni Malkin as the man to lead the team in his absence. A mainstay in Pittsburgh since being drafted second overall in 2004, teammate Chris Kunitz comments that having Malkin is a huge plus that most teams in the NHL don’t have:

“Most teams don’t have that luxury. ’Geno’ is an important guy for us. He’s going to get more offensive zone time for himself with ’Sid’ being out and showed (Thursday) that he can change a game at any time.”

Kasan writes that Malkin already put the team on his back after having a breakaway goal, assist, and a shootout goal in the Pens’ 3-2 victory over Washington. Malkin admits that it’s not easy being with Crosby, but adds that he feels his confidence is back after having a sub-par performance in the World Cup of Hockey.

In other news from around the league:

  • Ansar Khan tweeted earlier that the Red Wings are already shuffling lines in the wake of a 6-4 loss at the hands of Stanley Cup favorite Tampa Bay Thursday night. The Red Wings jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead and held a 3-1 lead before the Lightning reeled off four straight goals. The Detroit penalty kill had a busy night while the line of Steve Ott, Drew Miller, and Luke Glendening had a statistically brutal evening. Khan reported that Andreas Athanasiou was slotted into a line with Henrik Zetterberg and Frans Nielsen, while Ott was working into the fourth line. Khan later tweeted that those would indeed be the lines for Saturday’s contest against Florida, meaning that Ott would be the odd man out. This could be an early indicator that head coach Jeff Blashill will truly mix and match in order to find a spark, and will be quick to yank players from the lineup swiftly, whether they’re veterans or rookies. Last season, Athanasiou had 14 points (9-5) in 37 games and did so averaging just over nine minutes on the ice.
  • PK Subban notched his first goal as a Nashville Predator with a blistering slap shot in the first period of Nashville’s contest against the Chicago Blackhawks. Subban, who was traded for Shea Weber on June 29, ripped a shot from just inside the blue line to even the score at one. Known for his enthusiasm, and philanthropy during his time in Montreal, Nashville has fallen in love with its new star and the success expected on the ice should only increase his legend in the Music City.

Snapshots: Bruins Injuries, Crosby, Lindgren, Lindback

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Judging by their roster to start the new season, the Boston Bruins’ new colors might be black and blue. Patrice Bergeron, Adam McQuaid, and Kevan Miller will all miss the season opener in Columbus on Thursday night.

While Bergeron and McQuaid are considered day-to-day with lower and upper body injuries respectively, Miller will miss approximately six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fracture in his left hand.

2016-17 Season Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins

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With the start of the regular season only hours away, we look at the last team in our season preview series: the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Last Season: 48-26-8 (104 points). 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. Won Stanley Cup.

Remaining Cap Space: $(-3.18MM) per CapFriendly (Pens are expected to place Pascal Dupuis and his $3.75MM cap hit on LTIR)

Key Newcomers: G Mike Condon (waivers, Montreal)

Key Departures: F Beau Bennett (trade, New Jersey), D Ben Lovejoy (UFA, New Jersey), G Jeff Zatkoff (UFA, Los Angeles)

[Related: Pittsburgh Penguins Depth Chart at Roster Resource]

Players To Watch: Sidney Crosby. The unequivocal best player in the NHL right now is sidelined indefinitely with another concussion. Crosby sustained his latest concussion during training camp on the Friday before the seasons starts. The concussion derails what was set to be a promising start to the season after Crosby returned from the World Cup of Hockey a champion and MVP. He led the tournament in scoring by potting 3G and 7A. And while concussions are now taken more seriously, Crosby’s history with head injuries only intensifies the potential harm for the Penguins Captain. He missed a significant chuck of 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons with concussions and neck issues stemming from hits to the head, and another similar injury is cause for concern.

If Crosby comes back healthy and with no lingering effects, then the Pens are expected to challenge for the Cup once again. The team made no major moves this off-season, and avoided the almost inevitable cap-shedding summers that plagued the Chicago Blackhawks over the past six years.

Key Storyline: Goaltending. Who will step up and take the reins this season? Most hockey pundits assumed that Marc-Andre Fleury would be traded and Matt Murray would assume the starting role. Fleury lost his starting position to Murray after the rookie’s excellent playoff performance. The Pens attempted to insert Fleury back into the lineup during the playoffs but the team faltered and Coach Mike Sullivan went back to Murray.

The other reason many thought that Fleury would be traded was that if he remained on the roster past June, his newly activated NMC would force the Penguins to protect him and expose Murray in the expansion draft. Obviously Pittsburgh would like to keep Murray over Fleury as the former is arguably better, younger, and cost-controlled. That leaves Fleury as the odd man out in this situation, and the Pens could move him during the season if the price is right. Regardless of when they move him, the tension surrounding the situation could have an adverse effect on team morale. The Penguins have a bit of time to contemplate platooning both goalies, however, as Murray broke his hand during the World Cup of Hockey and will miss a few weeks as he recovers.

Snapshots: Concussions, Crosby, Prust

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • The NHL has updated its concussion protocol to add two key elements: (1) central office spotters watching all the games via the League office, and (2) mandatory fines for clubs who do not remove a player who requires a concussion evaluation. The central office staffers will watch the games back at league headquarters in New York and alert teams and in-arena spotters anytime they feel a player requires concussion evaluation. Concussions have become a hot topic is sports—namely the NFL—and the NHL’s on-going concussion litigation may have affected this change.
  • Speaking of concussions, Sidney Crosby has no timetable for recovery but is not worried about any longterm effects, reports Will Graves of the AP Sports. Crosby suffered another concussion this preseason and is currently out indefinitely. He took part in an hour-long skate today with other injured players but intends to take it day by day. Crosby is no stranger to concussions—he missed significant time in 2011 and 2012 with a concussion and related injuries stemming from numerous collisions. His history may be of benefit, however, as Crosby understands that concussion recovery takes patience and that he cannot rush progress.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have released forward Brandon Prust from his PTO, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnson. Prust failed to make the team after a disappointing training camp. Despite being released, Prust continued to practice with the team today before the season began in an effort to garner a contract nonetheless. Prust acknowledged that making the Maple Leafs was a long shot, and he hopes that he turned some heads in the process.

 

Crosby Diagnosed With Concussion

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The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today that captain Sidney Crosby has been diagnosed with a concussion. Coach Mike Sullivan said that the injury occurred in the Penguins’ Friday practice, but it was unclear at first that there was a head injury. What was orignally believed to just be sickness that kept Crosby out of the Pens’ preseason finale has now been officially diagnosed as a concussion. With so little time left before the start of the regular season, there is doubt as to whether or not Crosby will be healthy for the Pens’ home opener Thursday night against the Washington Capitals. There is no timeline for his return at this point. 

This is not the first time that Crosby has suffered a concussion as he has missed time in many seasons throughout his career due to head injuries. The worry with yet another concussion, even if it is minor, is that it could lead to an extended absence. The last thing that anyone wants to see is the player that most believe to be the best in hockey out with a head injury. Hopefully Crosby is back on the ice in no time.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh may have to do some line shuffling, but luckily for the defending Stanley Cup champs there is plenty of depth to go around. The diagnosis at this point in time allows the Penguins to re-analyze their roster situation prior to the cap deadline, perhaps preventing a player like Eric Fehr from hitting waivers. It could also allow the likes of Oskar Sunqvist, Teddy Blueger,  or college free agent Thomas Di Pauli to earn a role in the Penguins bottom-six. Should Crosby be unable to go on Thursday or even for an extended period of time, expect Evgeni Malkin to center the top line while Nick Bonino leads the “HBK line” in taking over second line duties. Matt Cullen, Fehr, or Wilkes-Barre/Scranton  reinforcements will center the bottom two lines. 

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two (1st Overall Pick)

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Hindsight is an amazing thing.

Piggybacking off an idea from our sister site Hoops Rumors, PHR looks back at the 2005 NHL Draft and how different it would look if general managers knew now what they didn’t know then.

The 2005 NHL Draft was unique in the fact that every team had a chance to select first due to the lockout that wiped out the entire 2004-05 season. To make sure each team had an opportunity, the NHL brass assigned teams one to three ping pong balls for the draft–determined by previous performance–with the worst teams earning three ping pong balls. As history would have it, the Pittsburgh Penguins would select first and went onto draft Sidney Crosby, who would become the cornerstone of the franchise. Two Stanley Cups since then, many would agree that the correct choice was made. From there, it gets interesting.

Looking back, the 2005 NHL draft boasted some big names between the pipes. Carey Price, Ben Bishop, Jonathan Quick, and Tuukka Rask were just a few. There were also some late round steals.  The Blackhawks struck gold taking Niklas Hjalmarsson in the fourth round while the Predators took Patric Hornqvist with the final pick in the draft. The Penguins also benefitted from that pick as well–especially this past season.

The redrafting of the entire 2005 draft will be based upon votes from readers. Below is a list of just over 35 players who went onto have impactful careers since then. If you don’t see a player you feel should be on there, let us know in the comments section. As each pick comes up, it will be the votes of the readers who reshape the draft selections. Throughout the next few weeks, every team will be represented and will “pick” a new player in their slot. We will begin with Pittsburgh, though it seems obvious who will be selected, because it keeps the re-draft concept consistent and complete.

With the first pick in the 2005 draft, who should the Pittsburgh Penguins select?

Metropolitan Notes: Carlson, Cammalleri, Blandisi, Crosby, Hurricanes

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Washington defenseman John Carlson isn’t experiencing any further issues with a broken ankle he sustained late in February, writes CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Tarik El-Bashir.  He had screws inserted in his ankle at the time of the surgery but doesn’t expect that he will need to have those removed:

“Only if it’s really, really bugging me, and it’s not.  It’s perfect, has been the whole summer. It’s good.”

Carlson was a force on the Capitals’ blueline in the postseason, averaging a point per game while logging nearly 27 minutes per night against the Flyers and Penguins.  He’ll be expecting to log big minutes in 2016-17 as a top pairing rearguard for Washington.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Devils winger Mike Cammalleri is fully recovered from a right hand issue that caused him to miss considerable action last season, he told Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. The 34 year old suited up in just 42 games in 2015-16, his lowest total since becoming an NHL regular.  Despite missing so much time, he had quite the productive season, picking up 14 goals and 24 assists, giving him his highest points per game rate since 2008-09.  Cammalleri also told Fox that he expects to surpass the 70 games played plateau in 2016-17, something he hasn’t done since ’08-’09.
  • More with New Jersey, the Devils are expected to keep some spots on the roster open for their prospects (and the potential return of Patrik Elias). Among the youngsters vying for a spot up front is Joseph Blandisi, who told NJ.com’s Chris Ryan that ankle swelling that forced him to miss development camp last month has subsided and that he’ll be ready to push for a regular role in training camp.  Blandisi recorded 17 points in 41 games last season but failed to score a goal in his final 23 contests.
  • Hockey Canada has named Penguins captain Sidney Crosby as team captain for their entry into the upcoming World Cup of Hockey.  Chicago’s Jonathan Toews and Montreal’s Shea Weber were named alternates.
  • The Hurricanes have announced their roster for the upcoming Traverse City prospect tournament in mid-September. Among the notable invitees are 2016 first rounders Jake Bean and Julien Gauthier, 2014 first round pick Haydn Fleury, and forward Sergey Tolchinsky, who got into a pair of games with Carolina last season.

World Cup Notes: Price, Tavares, Crosby

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Worry not, fans of Canada and the Canadiens. Carey Price is healthy and ready to go for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. In an interview with Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, Team Canada’s GM Doug Armstrong said Price is “100 per cent and he’s ready to go” for the start of Team Canada’s training camp, which kicks off on the Labour Day long weekend.

Price hasn’t played an NHL game since November 25, so “he’ll have to shake off some of the rust”, according to Armstrong. The Canadian GM has been in touch with Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin since naming Price to the initial roster on March 2. Armstrong said Price may be the best goaltender in the world based on his play since the Sochi Olympics.

Here are some other notes from Canada’s World Cup roster:

  • Islanders captain John Tavares spoke with Sportsnet’s Luke Fox about the challenges that come with the early end to the summer, compounded by the Islanders making their longest playoff run since he was drafted in 2009. “You lose two weeks that you normally use for training or getting settled in your home city,” said Tavares. However, he’s excited to take part, especially after being forced to miss Canada’s last two games in Sochi. There’s no one player that Tavares is looking forward to lining up beside; instead its the chance to learn from the great leaders.
  • Tavares also commented on the possibility of the NHL not attending the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. He enjoys the best-on-best tournaments, and despite the return of the World Cup, says that there’s “something special” about the Olympics.
  • Unlike Tavares, there’s one player in particular that Sidney Crosby is looking forward to having on his team: fellow Nova Scotian and noted pest Brad Marchand. Crosby told Fox that “having [Marchand] on your team is going to be so much more enjoyable than having to play against him.” He added that Marchand is a “really good player” who plays “right on the edge”. The two skate together in the off-season with another local kid by the name of Nathan MacKinnon, who will play on Team North America.

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