Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Post-Draft Trades Will Be Announced Tomorrow

June 21, 2017 at 10:05 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

The Vegas Golden Knights were busy on the trade front tonight, completing ten different deals with teams to steer their expansion draft picks. While all of the trades can be seen here, there are several more that are due to come early Thursday morning. The trade freeze ends tomorrow morning at 7am CDT, making for quite an interesting morning after.

Vegas GM George McPhee had already told us that his team would need to flip some defensemen after the draft, and it seems as though the deals will come right away. The Golden Knights selected 13 defensemen (and acquired even more in trade), most of whom will never see the ice in T-Mobile Arena.

Bob McKenzie of TSN reported during the event that former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk could be flipped to Carolina tomorrow, and interesting move for a team who already has several young defensemen fighting for ice time. If TvR does make it to Raleigh, it likely would signal another move is coming for a forward down the line for Carolina.

On the note of van Riemsdyk, it had been widely reported that his exposure was tied to a trade that would bring Marcus Kruger to Vegas as a cap-dump for the Chicago Blackhawks. That didn’t happen tonight, and as we wrote earlier could be because of the Marian Hossa long-term injury situation that broke this morning. Kruger still could be moved, but it isn’t directly tied to the van Riemsdyk expansion selection.

McKenzie also tells us that the Dallas Stars are interested in Marc Methot, selected by the Golden Knights from the Ottawa Senators. The Stars have been looking for a left-handed defenseman that is capable of logging big minutes, and with Methot’s successful history alongside Erik Karlsson could be the perfect fit for John Klingberg in Texas. Methot has two years left on his contract and does hold a limited no-trade clause that allows him to block deals to ten teams.

The Minnesota Wild have already made a trade with the Golden Knights that sent Alex Tuch to Vegas to help protect Mathew Dumba and others, but there is more coming in the next few days. Michael Russo of the Star Tribune spoke with Wild GM Chuck Fletcher, who told him the team could “absolutely” trade a defenseman by the weekend. Marco Scandella remains the most likely option, but now that the draft is in the past everyone is likely being discussed.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Rumored Vegas Golden Knights Expansion Selections

June 21, 2017 at 6:45 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 27 Comments

The Vegas Golden Knights will reveal their expansion selections at tonight’s NHL Awards show, but details have started to come in on who each team will lose. There are many rumors floating around, but these are the most reputable. As with anything, nothing is final until the actual selections are announced tonight. This page will be updated with new information as it comes in.

Here are the latest rumored selections along with their source:

Anaheim Ducks: Clayton Stoner — Bob McKenzie of TSN

Arizona Coyotes:

Boston Bruins: Colin Miller — Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet

Buffalo Sabres: William Carrier — Frank Seravalli of TSN

Calgary Flames: Deryk Engelland — John Shannon of Sportsnet

Carolina Hurricanes:

Chicago Blackhawks: Trevor van Riemsdyk — Frank Seravalli of TSN

Colorado Avalanche:

Columbus Blue Jackets: William Karlsson — Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch

Dallas Stars: Cody Eakin — Jim Toth of TSN

Detroit Red Wings: Tomas Nosek — Craig Custance of The Athletic.

Edmonton Oilers: Griffin Reinhart — John Shannon of Sportsnet

Florida Panthers: Jon Marchessault — Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet

Los Angeles Kings: Brayden McNabb — John Shannon of Sportsnet

Minnesota Wild: Erik Haula — Michael Russo of the Star Tribune

Montreal Canadiens: Alexei Emelin — Eric Engels of Sportsnet

Nashville Predators: James Neal — Bob McKenzie of TSN

New Jersey Devils: Jon Merrill — Frank Seravalli of TSN

New York Islanders: Jean-Francois Berube — Bob McKenzie of TSN

New York Rangers: Oscar Lindberg — Larry Brooks of the New York Post and Frank Seravalli of TSN.

Ottawa Senators: Marc Methot — Pierre LeBrun of TSN

Philadelphia Flyers: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — Craig Custance of The Athletic

Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc-Andre Fleury – Bob McKenzie of TSN

San Jose Sharks: David Schlemko — Pierre LeBrun of TSN

St. Louis Blues: David Perron — James Mirtle of The Athletic

Tampa Bay Lightning:

Toronto Maple Leafs: Brendan Leipsic — Darren Dreger of TSN

Vancouver Canucks:

Washington Capitals: Nate Schmidt — Pierre LeBrun of TSN

Winnipeg Jets:

Expansion Primer: Chicago Blackhawks

June 10, 2017 at 12:38 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 5 Comments

Over the next few weeks we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

While the regular season was a strong one for Chicago, it failed to translate into postseason success as the Blackhawks were swept at the hands of the Predators. GM Stan Bowman has promised change, some of which will come through expansion. Here’s a closer look at their situation when it comes to the upcoming draft.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:

Artem Anisimov (NMC), Ryan Hartman, Marian Hossa (NMC), Tomas Jurco, Patrick Kane (NMC), Marcus Kruger, Michael Latta, Richard Panik, Dennis Rasmussen, Jonathan Toews (NMC), Jordin Tootoo

Defense:

Niklas Hjalmarsson (NMC), Duncan Keith (NMC), Ville Pokka, Michal Rozsival, Brent Seabrook (NMC), Viktor Svedberg, Trevor van Riemsdyk

Goaltenders:

Corey Crawford (NMC), Jeff Glass

Notable Exemptions

D Gustav Forsling, F John Hayden, F Vinnie Hinostroza, D Michal Kempny, F Tanner Kero, F Artemi Panarin, D Jan Rutta, F Nick Schmaltz

Key Decisions

Based on earlier reports, their strategy seems to revolve around van Riemsdyk. The belief is that if the Golden Knights are willing to take Kruger and his $3.083MM cap hit off their hands in a trade, they’ll leave the blueliner available to be selected in the draft. With three rearguards carrying no-move clauses though, there isn’t much of a real protection threat to Vegas here. Protecting van Riemsdyk would require a switch to protecting just eight skaters which would open up an intriguing option up front for the Golden Knights.

With the recent re-signing of Kempny as well as the addition of Rutta, the Blackhawks are certainly hedging against losing van Riemsdyk. With Brian Campbell and Johnny Oduya expected to depart, the 25 year old becomes a candidate for a bigger role next season which would make his departure tough to swallow. That could be lessened by getting Kruger’s contract off the books but is leaving van Riemsdyk unprotected enough of a sweetener by itself? On the surface it may seem like it but that may not be the case.

If the discussed deal falls through and Chicago opts to go with protecting eight skaters to keep van Riemsdyk away from Vegas, the Golden Knights would likely happily snap up Hartman and not have to take on Kruger’s contract. That seems like an even worse outcome for the Blackhawks who would lose a promising young forward and still be in trouble when it comes to the salary cap. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Blackhawks had to add something else to the rumored trade to get it done.

That presents Bowman with another option he’ll have to consider – trade van Riemsdyk before expansion. While that would mean that their efforts to move Kruger will have fallen through, they would at least stand to get some value back for their blueliner while going with a 7/3/1 scheme would result in them not losing anyone of much consequence to Vegas. There are a few ways this could go and van Riemsdyk is at the core of all of them.

Up front, there aren’t a lot of decisions to really be made thanks to the four no-move clauses. Hartman and the recently-extended Panik would stand to snap up the fifth and sixth slots with a handful of players vying for the last one.

Considering their cap situation, it’s safe to suggest Kruger will be left unprotected no matter what. Tootoo was in and out of the lineup this past season and there’s a good case to be made that his extension was in part to ensure that they had enough forwards to meet the 40/70 exposure requirements.

That leaves Jurco and Rasmussen for the last spot. Jurco is coming off two straight disappointing seasons and failed to produce with Chicago after being acquired. However, at 24 years of age, there’s still hope that he could turn it around. Rasmussen played more of a regular role after getting into 68 games but did so almost exclusively in a fourth line depth role. While he played more than Jurco, it’s conceivable that Bowman and Chicago would use their last spot on potential upside before a depth checker.

If the Blackhawks wanted to protect both, they could conceivably ask Hossa to waive his no-move clause. His contract and age would make him a safe bet to pass through. However, teams appear to be very hesitant to approach their veterans about doing so; as a result, this is a very unlikely scenario.

Chicago doesn’t have many unrestricted free agents and among them, none would likely be appealing to Vegas GM George McPhee. Campbell and Oduya are the best ones available and neither of them should interest an expansion team, especially since plenty of younger blueliners will be made available to them from other teams.

Projected Protection List

F Artem Anisimov (NMC)
F Ryan Hartman
F Marian Hossa (NMC)
F Tomas Jurco
F Patrick Kane (NMC)
F Richard Panik
F Jonathan Toews (NMC)

D Niklas Hjalmarsson (NMC)
D Duncan Keith (NMC)
D Brent Seabrook (NMC)

G Corey Crawford (NMC)

Assuming that Bowman and McPhee agree on the rumored deal that would send Kruger to the Golden Knights with van Riemsdyk left unprotected, this could be one of the less-intriguing teams to watch when it comes to expansion. If it doesn’t happen though, then they’ll be worth keeping an eye on. Do they protect van Riemsdyk anyways and switch to the eight skater scheme? Do they leave him unprotected outright? Do they trade him beforehand? Considering how much Chicago’s situation seems to revolve around him, their expansion situation could more or less be termed ‘van Riemsdyk watch’.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Keys: Chicago Blackhawks

June 3, 2017 at 2:57 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

While the expansion draft is set to headline a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months ahead. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Despite more roster turnover last offseason, most of the core of the Blackhawks remained intact and expectations were still high. Chicago played well during the season and earned the top seed in the Western Conference but things unraveled quickly from there as they were swept by Nashville in the first round of the playoffs. GM Stan Bowman has promised more changes to the roster which makes them a team to keep an eye on this summer. Here are a few keys to their offseason success.

Get Under The Salary Cap

30 of the 31 teams head into the offseason projected to be under the salary cap. The one team that isn’t is Chicago and not by an insignificant margin either. They have over $77.5MM already committed per next season per CapFriendly and the cap isn’t expected to jump all that much higher from the $73MM it was this season. A major factor in their situation was more than $3.5MM in bonuses being reached this year by several players, most prominently winger Artemi Panarin. As they finished the season at the cap ceiling, the charge for those bonuses being reached will be applied in 2017-18.

As a result, Bowman needs to find a way to trim a fair bit of payroll. What may prove challenging is that nine different players have some form of no-move or no-trade protection and most of those are their higher paid players.

Among the options to move is center Marcus Kruger. Earlier this week, it was reported that a deal was being worked on that would move Kruger to Vegas in an agreement that would also see the Golden Knights land young defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk. Kruger’s cap hit on its own isn’t particularly onerous ($3.083MM) but he’s a bottom six forward and it would make sense to try to free up space there over moving a top six option. Center Artem Anisimov has also been suggested as a player who could move but that would have a much bigger impact in their top six. One way or another, they need to free up a fair bit of payroll room.

New Backup Goaltender

With the offseason trade of Scott Darling to Carolina, the Blackhawks need a new backup goaltender. Their internal options are limited with Jeff Glass being the only other goalie under contract while their two full-time AHL goalies from last season are unrestricted free agents. As a result, they’ll likely be turning elsewhere to find the right fit.

The trade market is expected to be more robust than usual for netminders over the next few weeks but most of the players changing hands have bigger contracts which will keep Chicago away. Instead, free agency will be the place to look.

While there are a few bigger names that will hit the open market next month, there are several quality backups to choose from and there should be fewer vacancies than there are goalies available which should bode well for Chicago. With Corey Crawford entrenched as the starter plus their cap troubles, they aren’t expected to be in the market for the top backups but they should have no difficulty adding an NHL-quality option at a cheap price if they wait out the market.

Add Defensive Help

The back end has been a concern in Chicago for a little while now and it’s projecting to be that way next season as things currently stand. Unless Brian Campbell wants to take another pay cut, he probably won’t be able to stick around while trade deadline addition Johnny Oduya will also price himself out of what they can afford unless he wants to take a deal that’s well below market value. Plus, if the Vegas deal happens, they’ll find themselves without another option in van Riemsdyk as well.

The Blackhawks have a strong veteran core in Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Niklas Hjalmarsson but there are plenty of question marks after that. Gustav Forsling has good potential but only has half a season under his belt while 2016 offseason acquisition Michal Kempny had an up-and-down rookie campaign. Michal Rozsival remains on the roster but isn’t an option to play a regular role at this stage of his career.

In a perfect world, Bowman would find a way to add another top four option without taking away much from his roster. That’s probably too optimistic at this point but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them go after a couple of veteran bottom pairing options in free agency to at least try to help the bottom pairing and add some depth. It’s not the perfect solution but that’s about the only improvement that they can likely afford as things currently stand.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blackhawks, Golden Knights Discussing Possible Trade

May 31, 2017 at 11:44 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 6 Comments

According to Frank Seravalli of TSN, the Chicago Blackhawks and Vegas Golden Knights are discussing a deal that would allow Vegas to select Trevor van Riemsdyk in the expansion draft on the condition that they also take Marcus Kruger in trade afterwards. Obviously, Chicago has less leverage in the talks as they will lose a player regardless, but assuring that van Riemsdyk will be available could be a strong move for the Golden Knights as they try to secure young assets.

The Blackhawks are in trouble with the salary cap once again, and desperately have to find a way to move out money this summer in order to remain viable. Kruger has always been the most likely candidate for a trade, though many fans had hoped that it would be a lesser asset going to Vegas to make him the expansion selection. Instead, it looks like van Riemsdyk will be the latest cap casualty in Chicago after last season saw the exit of Teuvo Teravainen in order to get rid of Bryan Bickell’s contract.

25-year old van Riemsdyk is under contract for this season at just an $825K cap-hit, a relative bargain after two solid seasons. The defenseman put up 16 points in just 58 games this year and has turned from an undrafted free agent into a solid 18+ minute player for the Hawks. That bargain would likely end at the end of next season, as van Riemsdyk would hit restricted free agency as a 26-year old and require a contract that bought out solely UFA years. While Vegas can afford to give him a substantial raise, Chicago cannot.

In Kruger, the Blackhawks have a player who effective but expensive. Though he is a solid checking center capable of contributing on the penalty kill Kruger has two years remaining at $3.1MM and just isn’t worth it to the team. While he could help the Golden Knights as a 27-year old third-line center, his cap-hit has to leave the Hawks this summer if they’re to fit everything in. They currently project over the salary cap, and moving out Kruger (and perhaps another, even bigger contract) would go a long way to solving that problem.

Kruger actually has a limited no-trade clause kicking in this summer, meaning the Blackhawks need to get rid of him before he can list Vegas as one of his blocked teams. It can’t happen until after the draft though, as he currently projects as one of the team’s two forwards—along with Jordin Tootoo—that meet the 70/40 exposure requirements. If the Blackhawks do in fact leave van Riemsdyk exposed and don’t move him to another team before the draft, expect a Kruger trade in the few days following.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Blackhawks Notes: Kempny, Trade Possibilities

December 15, 2016 at 8:19 pm CDT | by natebrown 1 Comment

The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Hine answers a number of questions about the Blackhawks and begins with Michal Kempny’s status as a consistent healthy scratch. Hine indicates it’s a common question and he defers to head coach Joel Quenneville:

“I just think that consistency without the puck and how he defends in his own end is probably the area (where) there’s (room for) growth in his game,” Quenneville said. “But I still think our defense is pretty good and we’ve got some tough decisions on a game to game basis. He adds one more guy we feel can play. But I think the depth, that’s a strength, and sometimes that’s part of the decision.”

Hine writes that Kempny is young and will experience ups and downs. He adds that he expects him to find his way back into the regular rotation again, but that with a roster fortunate with depth, it’s the nature of the beast. However, Kempny found his way into the lineup tonight, but through nearly two periods, his ice time lagged significantly behind those of the other five defenseman. He was also a -3 with just under seven minutes of ice time.

Hine also addresses potential trades that the Blackhawks could make. He doesn’t see Trevor van Riemsdyk going anywhere, but indicates that the Hawks could make a deal or two at the trade deadline. The caveat is that they will refrain from trading a first round pick because of the draft being held in Chicago. He also believes that since Bowman has relinquished two picks the last two seasons, it’s unlikely, regardless of draft location, that he would give this year’s pick up.

Blackhawks To Place Toews On IR

December 2, 2016 at 12:53 pm CDT | by Brett Barrett 3 Comments

It’s not a serious injury for Captain Serious, but Jonathan Toews is likely heading for injured reserve.

Toews has missed four games with a back injury, and is set to miss a fifth on Saturday night. CSN Chicago’s Tracey Myers reported Toews is feeling better, but will not play in Philadelphia.

Chicago Sun-Times writer Mark Lazerus quoted Toews as saying this is the kind of injury he’d “suck it up” and play through in the playoffs. But with defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk coming off IR after being out for the past five weeks, Lazerus speculates that the Blackhawks will place Toews on IR retroactive to last week to delay making another roster move.

[Related: Blackhawks Depth Chart]

Toews told Myers that he aggravated a prior injury in his last game, which was on November 23 in San Jose. The Blackhawks are 3-0-1 without Toews so far.

Trevor Van Riemsdyk Out Five To Six Weeks

October 22, 2016 at 11:50 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Chicago defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk is expected to miss the next five to six weeks with an upper body injury according to a report from Scott Powers of The Athletic. TSN’s Mark Masters adds (Twitter link) that the blueliner had his right arm in a sling. The injury was sustained in Friday’s 3-2 loss to Columbus.

Injuries have not been kind to the 25 year old in recent years. Since January of 2014, he has suffered a broken ankle, a fractured patella, and a wrist injury, the latter two requiring surgeries. Powers adds that this particular injury is not expected to require surgery.

It has been a tough start to the season for van Riemsdyk. After playing all 82 games last season, he has seen time in just two of four games this year and last night’s game saw the team dress seven defenders instead of the usual six, reducing his ice time. He has been held off the scoresheet so far this season but had three goals and 11 assists last year.

In the short-term, this will alleviate the logjam on Chicago’s back end as the team has been carrying eight blueliners since the start of the season. This certainly won’t help van Riemdsyk’s trade value though as the team continues to shop him around the league.

[Related: Blackhawks Depth Chart]

Hjalmarsson Returns To Blackhawks Lineup

October 14, 2016 at 12:19 pm CDT | by Brett Barrett Leave a Comment

The Chicago Blackhawks failed to impress in their first game of the season, losing 5-2 to division rivals St. Louis. Despite the ugly loss, there are plenty of reasons to believe Chicago will be better when they visit the Nashville Predators on Friday night, namely the return of Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Hjalmarsson was suspended for much of the pre-season and the first game of the regular season for a charge/ hit to the head of St. Louis forward Ty Rattie. Hjalmarsson is one of the top defensive defensemen in the NHL, and a very good penalty killer. After the Blues scored three powerplay goals on the Hawks, Hjalmarsson returning to the PK will be a welcome addition.

The Blackhawks have great depth on the backend, with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, Brian Campbell, Gustav Forsling, Michal Kempny, and Trevor Van Riemsdyk. The latter struggled in the home opener, taking two bad penalties. Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times believes Van Riemsdyk will be the healthy scratch tonight, after Kempny and Forsling both had solid NHL debuts.

Van Riemsdyk admits he has work to do, but is glad the Blackhawks have some competition on the blue line, saying it “always brings out the best in you.”

Whoever sits out, the Blackhawks will dress a dependable defence against P.K. Subban and the skilled Predators.

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