Lightning center Steven Stamkos sustained a new lower-body injury during training for the NHL’s return and will not be a full participant at their upcoming training camp GM Julien BriseBois told reporters including Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, he is expected to be ready to go when their seeding games get underway. Smith relays in a separate tweet that the beneficiary of this will be winger Alex Barre-Boulet who has now been added to their camp roster. The 23-year-old has yet to play at the NHL but has been quite productive with AHL Syracuse as he has 124 points in 134 games over his first two pro seasons after signing as an undrafted free agent.
Lightning Rumors
Prospect Notes: Cozens, Harvard, Beniers, Kings
The future is bright for the Wild, Flyers, Senators, and Kings, per The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler. Each of those four clubs tied for the lead with four prospects making Wheeler’s top-50 list, headlined by Dylan Cozens of the Sabres in the top spot. The same can’t be said for the Lightning, Blue Jackets, Jets, Blackhawks, and Bruins, all of whom failed to register a single prospect on the list. Wheeler qualifies the case for the Jets and Blue Jackets as each had a pair of prospects close to making the list, and the Blackhawks, who have recently graduated players like Adam Boqvist and Kirby Dach, while blueliner Ian Mitchell garnered consideration.
- As if tracking NHL prospects isn’t artful enough, it’s going to get a whole lot more complicated as college athletics tries to find its way amid the coronavirus pandemic. Harvard released a statement today announcing all classes will be offered online and on-campus students will be capped at 40% of the student body. Athletics are going to be impacted, but it’s not yet clear what kind of season, if any, college hockey will have in 2020-2021. As ESPN’s Chris Peters points out, that’s going to affect the next couple of drafts, as Harvard alone had a number of potential draft prospects, including potential first-rounder Matt Beniers.
- The Los Angeles Kings have a big decision looming after winning the number two overall pick in next year’s draft. Of course, they have plenty of time to study their options, writes Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. With an uncertain picture of next season, the draft presents the Kings with their largest dose of certainty. The top pick is going to be Alexis Lafreniere, leaving VP and GM Rob Blake with his pick of the rest. Harris provides a quote from Blake, who said: “You can narrow it down to three or four players where you’re really starting to zero in, instead of a group. But you’re going to review all the prep you did leading up to this one more time to have it fresh on your mind.” In addition, the Kings have three second-round picks and a pair each in the third and fourth round. Of course, though the Kings know when in the draft they’ll pick, they still don’t know when the draft will take place.
West Notes: Blues Facilities, Guerin, Juolevi
As of now, the St. Louis Blues hope to re-open their facilities and allow players to return to the ice on Monday after a report that several Blues’ players tested positive for COVID-19. That report forced the Blues to close their facilities over the weekend. With a similar incident happening to the Tampa Bay Lightning on June 19, forcing the team to close their facilities for five days before re-opening. Regardless, the positive tests isn’t expected to affect the NHL’s plans to start training camps in a week.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly released a statement earlier today (via Fox’s Andy Strickland):
I don’t believe that what we’ve seen to this point is unexpected. We have always anticipated that we were going to encounter positive tests. What we want to avoid is mini-outbreaks. So the focus is taking the necessary precautions to avoid a cluster of positives. We think the enhanced structure and precautions that will be in place once we reach the training camp phase will actually create safer conditions for players and staff. And we think the Hub City Protocol will make it even safer still.
- In The Athletic’s Michael Russo’s Q&A with Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin (subscription required), the GM made it clear that the team will be fully focused on its series with the Vancouver Canucks and not the potential of landing the No. 1 overall pick, if the team falls in the play-in round next month. All eight teams that lose in the play-in game have a 12.5 percent chance to earn the right to draft super prospect Alexis Lafreniere. “I think everybody thinks about it, but our job is to win hockey games, and not to play for a first overall pick,” said Guerin. “We’re going in to win. You can’t do that. You can’t do that. Like I said, these games are going to come fast and furious. We’ve got to be ready and we’re going in there to win, not play for a pick. You can’t do that. You just don’t do that.”
- In his mailbag series, Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre writes that defensive prospect Olli Juolevi may have to accept being a third-pairing defenseman down the road. The 2016 fifth-overall pick has yet to make his NHL debut and the only player among the top 17 drafted players that year who has not appeared in an NHL game. The 22-year-old has struggled with both injuries and inconsistency, yet remains close to making his NHL debut and is expected to be on the Canucks roster for the playoffs next month. A third-pairing role might be the most reasonable expectations for Juolevi as it likely isn’t going to get easier to crack the Canucks’ roster over the next few years.
Dominik Masin In Talks With A KHL Team
- Lightning defense prospect Dominik Masin is in discussions with Amur Khabarovsk of the KHL, reports Russian site AllHockey.ru. The pending restricted free agent has spent the last four seasons exclusively with AHL Syracuse, posting 16 goals and 42 assists in 269 games. Masin was a second-round pick back in 2014 and with the fate of the 2020-21 AHL season in question at this time, opting to go overseas would guarantee him a full season worth of development.
Lightning Opens Up Practice Facilities After Positive COVID-19 Tests Last Week
- The Lightning have reopened their practice facilities, reports team reporter Bryan Burns (Twitter link). They closed down on Friday following three players and two staff members testing positive for COVID-19. Players can now skate in groups of 12 as they work their way towards the third phase of the NHL’s return plan which is training camps that are slated to open July 10th.
Lightning Close Facilities Due To Positive COVID-19 Tests
3:08 PM: Lightning GM Julien BriseBois released the following statement through Twitter concerning the positive tests:
We have learned that three players and additional staff members have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Those players have been self-isolated following CDC protocals and are asymptomatic other than a few cases of low-grade fever. Those who have been in contact with these individuals have been notified. The Lightning continue testing and are strictly following all NHL and government procedures as part of the league’s Phase 2 guidelines. Upon receiving positive tests yesterday, team training facilities were immediately closed with all players and staff being sent home. Those facilities will remain temporarily shut down until we can ensure a safe environment.
12:16 PM: While NHL facilities are open as part of the second phase of the NHL’s Return to Play plan, at least one will be shut down temporarily. TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (all Twitter links) that three Lightning players and two staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. The expectation is that if all other players and staff test negative, the facility will re-open in the near future although Diana C. Nearhos of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Amalie Arena (where the team was skating) will be closed to non-essential staff until July 6th.
The identities of the players and staff were not identified. As McKenzie noted in an Insider Trading appearance on Thursday, that information is unlikely to be made available. The NHL (in conjunction with the NHLPA) appears to be shifting towards the approach of the NBA where an announcement will simply be made that someone tested positive without making any other type of identification. To that end, Joe Smith, Michael Russo, and Craig Custance of The Athletic report (subscription required) that there are other positive cases around the league at the moment that have not been announced.
It’s worth noting that at this stage in the process, the skates are voluntary and as such, there is no league-mandated quarantine in place. The expectation remains that if play resumes (likely in early August), there will be a full quarantine for both hub cities.
While one set of positive tests at this stage isn’t going to cause a significant setback, it certainly serves as a sobering reminder that there is still a long way to go towards a safe and healthy resumption of play as the pandemic continues on.
East Notes: Gostisbehere, Bruins FAs, Red Wings Youth
There was quite a few rumors surrounding the trade status of Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere at the trade deadline in February, but in the end, the team couldn’t find a deal that they liked. After all, Gostisbehere was a top offensive defenseman with the Flyers for several years before back-to-back poor seasons. Of course he is just 27 years old and while he’s recovering from knee surgery this season, the team still believes he has quite a bit of value.
However, Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi writes in his most recent mailbag, that the team is still looking for a trade partner for Gostisbehere and hope to find the right deal this offseason. He adds that the team isn’t willing to just give the blueliner away as he still has vast potential, but the team might be willing to accept a second-round pick or a young forward with 20-goal potential down the road.
- NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin reports that Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said that with the uncertainty of the salary cap going forward, the team has shelved any thought of discussing contracts with their UFAs and RFAs. The team has several unrestricted free agents, including defenseman Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara, Joakim Nordstrom and Kevan Miller. The team also has several key restricted free agents, including Jake Debrusk, Anders Bjork and Matt Grzelcyk, but will have little cap room to work with and with rumors that the cap may not increase next year, could force the team to make some difficult decisions.
- Despite a record losing season in Detroit, MLive’s Ansar Khan writes that Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman and the coaching staff do feel that the team made quite a bit of progress in their development of their younger players. He notes that the team were thrilled with the play of defenseman Filip Hronek, who averaged 23:54 of TOI, while posting nine goals and 31 points. While his minus-38 isn’t impressive, the team saw a blueliner whose defense improved greatly. The scribe also points out the improved play of 2018 first-rounder Filip Zadina, Givani Smith and defenseman Gustav Lindstrom.
Maxim Cajkovic Traded In The QMJHL
- As the QMJHL draft continues today, Lightning prospect Maxim Cajkovic finds himself on the move. The Val-d’Or Foreurs announced that they’ve acquired the 19-year-old in exchange for four draft picks. Cajkovic was a third-round pick of Tampa Bay last June (89th overall) after his rookie junior season. Injuries limited him to just 36 games this season but he was productive in those, collecting 18 goals and 24 assists while adding a pair of helpers for Slovakia at the World Juniors. Cajkovic has until June 1 of next year to sign his entry-level deal or go back into the draft.
Snapshots: Blashill, Pilut, Canadiens
The Detroit Red Wings season has come to an end following the announcement of the return to play format, meaning they’ll go down as one of the worst teams in history (at least in terms of points percentage). The club finished 17-49-5 and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, leading many to question the future of Jeff Blashill.
Steve Yzerman, Detroit GM, is not one of those questioning his head coach. On a conference call with reporters today including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Yzerman explained that he has “no plans on making a coaching change at this time.” Blashill signed a two-year contract extension in 2019 that carries him through the 2020-21 season but now has a 153-194-52 record as head coach of the Red Wings.
- A report out of Russia has Buffalo Sabres defenseman Lawrence Pilut heading to the KHL next season, though it has not been confirmed at this point. Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News reports that the Sabres are inquiring with Pilut to see if he has indeed signed or agreed to terms with Traktor Chelyabinsk. Pilut is scheduled to become a restricted free agent later this summer, but with the Sabres already eliminated from play he could be looking for a new opportunity already. The 24-year old Pilut ended up playing just 46 games over two seasons for Buffalo, despite being excellent in the minor leagues and showing he could handle NHL duty. Should he decide to pursue a contract overseas, the Sabres could temporarily retain his rights by issuing him a qualifying offer.
- With just a few days left to sign them, Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin explained to reporters including Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports that they will not be issuing contract offers to a few prospects. Allan McShane, Cole Fonstad and Samuel Houde–all players that will see their draft rights expire on June 1st–will not receive contracts from the Canadiens.
Playoff Notes: Player Concerns, Round Robin, Tampa Bay
It certainly seems like an NHL postseason is on the way, as the NHLPA approved continued talks of a 24-team playoff format on Friday. However, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun echoed the sentiment of the NHLPA’s statement when he reported that there are still concerns among the players. This initial vote was merely to continue making progress on the rough format of a 24-team structure, but there are details that still need to be hammered out. Specifically, LeBrun states that the players would prefer re-seeding after each round rather than the proposed bracket format. Further, the players were told that there is still indecision over whether that initial round of teams 5-12 in each conference would be a best-of-five or a best-of-seven series. The NHLPA will need to re-evaluate a final proposal before the league can make any official announcement.
- The idea of re-seeding does seem to be a more balanced and fair system for implementing this playoff structure. As currently proposed, the top seed in each conference would play the No. 8 or No. 9 team in the second round, while any of the other three bye seeds could wind up with an easier match-up following a bye in the first round. Especially if the first round is a best-of-five series, which would be more prone to upsets, the bracket format creates equity concerns. As Sportsnet’s Luke Fox describes, it also de-values the proposed round robin games between the top-four bye teams in each conference. This format is also still to be finalized, but the proposal was that the results of this round robin tournament would determine the seeding of those four bye teams. As Fox notes, if there is no real advantage to having the top seed in the bracket structure then there is not much to fight for in the round robin.
- One of the two teams who voted against the proposed 24-team playoff format was the Tampa Bay Lightning. Alex Killorn, the team’s NHLPA rep, spoke with The Athletic’s Joe Smith about the reasons why the team did not support the decision. Killorn stated that his team did not feel that it was fair for teams that likely would not have made the playoffs under the normal circumstances to not only have a shot in this expanded field, but also to have a better chance of moving on with a limited five-game series. Tampa also took issue with the preparedness of the teams who had earned byes, a point that would be emphasized further if – as LeBrun and Fox warn – the bracket system leads to a round robin for the first-round bye teams that lacks real meaning. These are fair points made by Killorn and the Lightning, but it seems that without the details of the playoff structure formalized yet, these concerns could be quelled by seven-game series in the first-round and re-seeding after the round rather than a bracket structure.