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Morning Notes: Raanta, Barzal, Dahlin

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According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, the Coyotes have extended a contract offer to goaltender Antti Raanta. The deal could be up to four years with a cap hit between $4-4.5MM, which would be a huge raise over the $1MM deal Raanta is currently on. While the Coyotes have been open with the fact that they want to re-sign Raanta, he potentially could enter the market as the top goaltending option this summer and have his pick from several opportunities.

After struggling through injury for part of the season, Raanta has really found his groove and now carries a .929 save percentage on the year. That puts him second among goaltenders who have started at least 30 games, only trailing Marc-Andre Fleury’s .931 mark. Raanta’s exquisite play and relative youth—he won’t turn 29 until May—could land him a long-term deal from any number of teams in the offseason. If he’s going to stay in the desert, it may take even more money.

  • Mathew Barzal will suit up for Team Canada at the World Championships according to Andrew Gross of Newsday. The outstanding rookie has 79 points on the season and has quickly turned into a household name around the NHL. Citing excitement to play with Connor McDavid, Barzal will join a pretty impressive group already signed up for the tournament. With the Olympics not taking NHL players this year, perhaps even more are willing to pull on their country’s sweater and play in an international event.
  • Rasmus Dahlin on the other hand won’t be appearing in any more games for Sweden this season. After his club team’s season ended recently, Dahlin will shut it down and prepare for what will be a whirlwind offseason where he is expected to go first overall in the NHL draft. Uffe Bodin of Elite Prospects reports on the situation, noting that without Dahlin at the upcoming U18 tournament, all eyes will shift to Adam Boqvist, another top defensive prospect in the upcoming draft.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Keller, Makar, Boeser

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The NHL announced its three stars for the month of March as Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid has found his way to the top once again, named the first star. McDavid picked up 13 goals and 15 assists in 16 games, which pulls him into the lead for the Art Ross Trophy race. Despite the Oilers struggles, McDavid has taken his game to a new level as he has hit career highs in goals (41) and points (103) and remains six points ahead of Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov for top spot in the NHL.

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand is the league’s second star for March as he had 10 goals and 16 assists in 15 games. Anaheim goaltender John Gibson picked up third star honors after playing in 13 games, picking up nine wins and boasting a .931 save percentage during that span.

  • Arizona Coyotes announced rookie Clayton Keller was named NHL Rookie of the Month for the second time this season. Keller, who won the award in October, had a strong start to the season, but struggled during the winter months before picking it back up recently. He picked up 19 points in the month of March, including six goals over 17 games. The 19-year-old is ranked second among rookies in points with 63 behind the New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal.
  • BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater tweets that the Colorado Avalanche will have to wait a little while longer to get bring in 2017 first-round pick Cale Makar into the fold. The fourth-overall pick has decided to return to the University of Massachusetts – Amherst for his sophomore year.  An elite power-play defenseman, Makar had a solid freshman year at Amherst, putting up five goals and 21 points and the Avalanche had hopes of instantly upgrading its defense for next year.
  • Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal tweets that it is doubtful that Vancouver Canucks rookie Brock Boeser plays for Team USA at this year’s 2018 IIHF World Championships in Denmark. Boeser went down for the season with a back injury and likely will spend his summer getting ready for the 2018-19 season. The 21-year-old had a great rookie season in which he scored 29 goals and picked up 55 points.

Evening Notes: Updated Draft Odds, Keith

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With the season winding down, and teams vying for the better odds of winning the Rasmus Dahlin sweepstakes, the Ottawa Senators took another step in upping their chances at the top pick by losing to Detroit 2-0 this afternoon. With just four games remaining, the Sens are tied with Arizona for the second worst record in the NHL with 65 points. Buffalo still has the best shot at securing the rights for the first overall pick. The NHL released the odds two days ago and with several teams within a few points of one another, the “tank-a-thon” race could be the matter of a few points as opposed to Colorado’s historically bad season in 2016-17.   As it stands, here are the odds for the ten worst teams through Saturday evening. Vancouver won in overtime, blowing a 4-1 lead late but still notching two points, which moved them from a 9.5% chance to 8.5%.  Please note that Arizona, Buffalo, New York (Rangers and Islanders), Edmonton, and Montreal all play tonight, which could alter the landscape a bit.

Buffalo (18.5%) – 60 points – 5 games remaining
Ottawa (13.5%) – 65 points – 4 games remaining
Arizona (11.5%)   – 65 points – 4 games remaining
Montreal (9.5%) – 68 points – 5 games remaining
Vancouver (8.5%) – 69 points – 3 games remaining
Detroit (7.5%) – 71 points – 3 games remaining
Chicago (6.5%) – 74 points – 3 games remaining
NY Islanders (6.0%) – 74 points – 4 games remaining
Edmonton (5.0%) – 74 points – 4 games remaining
NY Rangers (3.5%) – 75 points – 4 games remaining

  • The Chicago Blackhawks are going to miss the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade, and some of that has to do with the Hawks inability to score goals. Duncan Keith has seen his share of struggles and is on pace to set an NHL record for the wrong reasons writes the Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus. After taking 183 shots on net this season, Keith has only gotten the puck past a netminder once. Though his goal scoring has dropped off since he potted 10 back in 2014-15 when Chicago captured the Stanley Cup, nobody saw Keith’s performance going off the rails quite like this. Lazerus writes that if Keith doesn’t score in the final three games, Keith will set the NHL record for lowest non-zero shooting percentage. Lazerus adds that while Keith has been far and away the best defenseman for Chicago this season, he’s even fallen away from what has been his best play. Lazerus attributes this to being one of the only true top four defenseman on the team, something that has bogged down the two-time Norris Trophy winner.

Minor Transactions: 03/29/18

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The Arizona Coyotes are playing the ultimate spoiler down the stretch, winning again last night against the Vegas Golden Knights to draw even with the Vancouver Canucks for last in the Western Conference. Arizona has played well of late, giving them some hope for next season as they look to build around a young core.

For the Coyotes and all the teams out of the playoffs, now is the time to experiment with players who might not have had a chance to prove what they can do earlier in the season. With that, we’ll keep track of all the minor transactions around the league right here.

  • The Boston Bruins have sent Paul Postma back to the minors while recalling Tommy Cross under emergency conditions. Cross, the Providence Bruins captain, has played 66 games in the AHL this season and could be getting just a nice bonus for a good season. The 28-year old defenseman wasn’t on any of the pairings at morning skate, as both Zdeno Chara and Matt Grzelcyk took their normal spots.
  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Colin White under emergency conditions, and announced that Chris Wideman will not play again this season. White has played 15 games with the Senators this season, but failed to make enough of an impact to keep him in the lineup full-time. The 21-year old forward is still a big part of the Senators’ future, but hasn’t had the season many had hoped from him after his dominant career at Boston College.
  • Josh Jooris has been recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins as Derick Brassard battles injury, meaning Riley Sheahan probably moves back to the third line center position. Jooris was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes for just this reason, giving the Penguins some added depth should they face injury.
  • Pheonix Copley has been re-assigned once again, sent back to the minor leagues after a short recall. Copley has been filling in for the Washington Capitals when needed, but still hasn’t actually entered a game.
  • Spencer Foo is coming up for the Calgary Flames, using their fourth post-deadline recall. Foo was signed out of the NCAA last spring, and has made an impact in the AHL during his first season of professional hockey. He’ll likely get a chance to make his NHL debut over the last week of the season, and compete for a full-time job next fall.
  • With Semyon Varlamov (illness) and Jonathan Bernier (infection) both expected to be available on Friday night, the Avalanche have returned goaltender Spencer Martin to San Antonio of the AHL.  Martin has not seen any action with Colorado this season but has appeared in 32 games at the minor league level, posting a 3.02 GAA and a .895 SV%.

Coyotes’ Nick Merkley Done For The Season

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The Arizona Coyotes will have to shut down one of their young forwards for the remainder of the 2017-18 season. ’Yotes beat writer Dave Vest relays the message today from GM John Chayka that a lower-body injury for promising 20-year-old winger Nick Merkley will end his first pro season prematurely.

The announcement may seem inconsequential for many reasons. First, and most obvious, is the knowledge that Arizona has nothing to play for down the stretch. Despite picking up 14 wins since the beginning of February, including an impressive 4-1 defeat of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, the Coyotes still sit in last place in the Western Conference with no incentive to win more games this season. There’s also the fact that Merkley has skated in just one game with Arizona this year, spending almost the entirety of the campaign with the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners.

However, the loss of Merkley will still sting for the Coyotes. On one hand, they may have considered bringing the 2015 first-rounder up for a tryout at the NHL level if he had been healthy, to give a future contributor a taste of playing with top competition. That option is now off the table. On the other hand, they also won’t have Merkley for the AHL playoffs, which the organization has stressed as the season has gone on. Chayka even went out and acquired the likes of Jordan Maletta, Trevor Murphy, and Pierre-Cedric Labrie at the deadline, which the young GM acknowledges was to strengthen his minor league roster for a Calder Cup run. The Roadrunners lead the AHL’s Pacific Division and were ready for a strong postseason, behind their overpowering top line of Dylan Strome between Merkley and Mike Sislo. With Merkley out of the equation, the deep playoff run for their young prospects that Arizona so desperately desired may not come.

In the long-term, Merkley’s injury is not expected to hinder him beyond this season and he will surely be in the running for a roster spot with the Coyotes come 2018-19. With better than a point-per-game pace in the AHL this year – 39 points in 38 games – coupled with an ever-growing hockey intelligence, Merkley is not a name going away anytime soon… except for the rest of this season.

NHLPA Approves Proposed Changes To Lottery Odds

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In what has become an annual event, the NHL Players’ Association has yet again approved changes to the NHL Draft lottery odds. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the NHLPA today signed off on a new lottery set-up recently submitted by the league. It marks the third season in a row that the odds have been altered.

The percentage chance that a team is selected to pick first, second, or third, as expressed by the number of ping pong balls present in the lottery draw, is dependent on where they finish in the overall league standings. Unsurprisingly, the changes to the odds first agreed upon in the Collective Bargaining Agreement began with the Edmonton Oilers and the painful realization that they had won yet another lottery in 2015 and would move up in the draft order to select Connor McDavid as their fourth first overall pick in a six year span. In response, the league significantly boosted the odds in 2016 toward the teams finishing last winning the lottery – expecting that Edmonton would no longer be in that range – as LeBrun notes that the 30th-place team had 20% odds of picking first two years ago. After the worst team in the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs, retained the top pick that year and selected Auston Matthews, the league and NHLPA again agreed to lessen the odds and insert more chance (and excitement) into the lottery. LeBrun indicates that last year the league’s worst, the Colorado Avalanche, had an 18% chance of holding on to the top pick. However, in a wild turn of events, three teams outside the bottom four won the lottery and moved into the top three draft slots, the biggest shift being the Philadelphia Flyers, who narrowly missed the playoffs, picking second. So, to perhaps combat another clean sweep, the odds have again been increased for those toward the bottom

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the new odds of selecting first for the upcoming 2018 NHL Draft will be 18.5% for 31st, 13.5% for 30th, and 11.5% for 29th. With the addition of an extra non-playoff team, there is also a new distribution which in fact increases the odds for the last team to miss the playoffs, the 17th-place finisher, by a tenth of a percent to 1%. This is accomplished by lessening the odds for the middle-of-the pack lottery teams. It may not be a coincidence that the Oilers are part of that group. Nor may it be a coincidence that the current bottom three – the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, and Arizona Coyotes – are all teams that have been struggling for years and would certainly appreciate retaining their high picks. This yearly change in draft lottery odds seems to be very responsive to the results of each prior lottery, but that isn’t a bad thing. So long as both the league and NHLPA agree, it’s safe to assume that the changes have the best interests of competitive balance in mind.

Coyotes-Sabres: Lottery Odds On The Line

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Normally, this time of year brings match-ups with major playoff implications as teams jockey for position atop conferences and divisions or fight for the final wild card spots. Instead, all eyes will be on the KeyBank Center tonight as the puck is about to drop on a battle of the league’s two worst teams, the 31st-place Buffalo Sabres hosting the 29th-place Arizona Coyotes. Both teams will have just nine games remaining after tonight’s result and the loser (winner?) may very well end up with the worst record in the league and the best lottery odds for the top pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and the right to draft wunderkind defender Rasmus Dahlin.

It’s a strange time for two of the league’s least-successful to go head-to-head, as the argument is that the worse team tonight is actually the beneficiary, but both teams are playing some of their best hockey of late. The Coyotes, dead in the water at the midway point and on pace for a measly 46 points this season, have had a resurgence in the second half. The team is 12-5-2 since February 8th, with wins over divisional foes in playoff spots in the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks. They have already far surpassed 46 points, hitting 59 on the year with their sixth win in their last ten games on Monday night. Not only that, but Arizona has actually climbed out of the basement of the league, something most did not expect. Filling that bottom-feeder role now are the Sabres, but Buffalo too has been hot, with six wins in their last 11 games. It’s the first time all season that Buffalo has had less losses than not in a ten-game span, and that’s included wins over three of the league’s best teams – the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Neither team looks ready to lose tonight, but one has to and it could be the blow that knocks them out of their winning ways. Buffalo faces a tough stretch to close out the year, with road games in Tampa, Florida, Nashville, New York and twice in Toronto. The rest of their contests are home against division rivals. Tonight could be the last time the Sabres are favored by anyone to win in 2017-18. Meanwhile, Arizona is about to be run the gauntlet. Tonight’s game in Buffalo begins a road trip that goes through Carolina, Florida, Tampa, Vegas, and L.A. before they return home to face the playoff-hungry Blues and Ducks in two of their final four games. The one bright spot left on the Coyotes schedule is a trip to Vancouver on April 5th. With neither team facing a very winnable schedule, tonight’s result really could determine who ends up with the best lottery odds when the season ends.

Speaking of the Canucks, they’re not to be forgotten in this equation either. Vancouver has lost seven straight and now sit in 30th, with as many points as Arizona but with one fewer game left to play. However, the Canucks face Chicago tomorrow night and Edmonton twice, as well as the Coyotes, in this final stretch and seem more likely to pick up some extra points as the season winds down.

Yet, like Buffalo and Arizona, Vancouver likely won’t mind finishing last either. The prize, Dahlin, would be a major addition to any team, but especially to any of these three struggling franchises. Buffalo, currently in the best position to win the lottery, is sorely lacking in high-end defensive prospects outside of players already on the roster like Rasmus Ristolainen and Brendan Guhle. Dahlin would be an upgrade not just to any of their current prospect blue liners, but quite possibly their veterans as well. Vancouver continues to wait for Olli Juolevi to be NHL-ready and have a long-term project player in Jack Rathbone, but Dahlin would look awfully nice alongside Chris Tanev and Troy Stecher next season and beyond. Finally, there’s Arizona, where many have projected Dahlin to land all season. It could be the perfect spot, as fellow countryman and talented defender Oliver Ekman-Larsson could mentor Dahlin just long enough before the Coyotes to trade him before he hits free agency in 2019. Like Buffalo, Arizona lacks difference-makers on the back end in the pipeline and could desperately use Dahlin. He could be a fit for a long time with Jakob Chychrun. 

Who will end up with Dahlin? It may not be Buffalo or Arizona. It could be Vancouver, or it could be any of the other 12 teams who miss the playoffs, but win the lottery. However, the top odds and the race for the worst record in the league weigh heavily on tonight’s result. Stay tuned.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Merrick Madsen To Entry-Level Contract

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The Arizona Coyotes have signed goaltender Merrick Madsen to his two-year entry-level contract, now that Harvard’s season has come to an end. The 22-year old goaltender could have become an unrestricted free agent in August, but will get into the Coyotes organization right away.

Madsen’s draft rights were acquired by the Coyotes as part of the Nick Cousins trade last June, after originally being selected by the Philadelphia Flyers. His deal is likely scheduled to start in the 2018-19 season, though there is a chance he could get into some AHL action on an amateur tryout.

In Madsen, the Coyotes are adding a prototypical NHL goaltending prospect. Standing 6’5″ 190-lbs, Madsen has the length and flexibility to succeed at the next level, though he’ll have to continue to refine his game in the minor leagues. With a .918 save percentage this season for Harvard, he was the backbone of the Ryan Donato-led squad that unfortunately was not selected for the NCAA tournament. That was actually his lowest full-season mark during his time as the starter, which included a .931 mark as a sophomore in 2015-16. It’s not a sure thing that Madsen ever makes the NHL, but with the future in goal still unclear for Arizona, adding a prospect of his caliber is still a step in the right direction.

Arizona Coyotes To Recall Dylan Strome, Trevor Murphy

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One of the more interesting prospects in the entire NHL is Dylan Strome. Selected third overall in 2015 just behind Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, Strome had almost everything you wanted out of a prospect. A big body, soft hands, elite hockey IQ, offensive creativity, responsible defensively; he was a stud. In the junior ranks, Strome put up 129 and 111 points in his 18 and 19-year old seasons, before getting a chance in the NHL early last season. In seven games with the Arizona Coyotes, Strome recorded just a single assist and his biggest flaw, skating ability, was exposed.

That flaw isn’t likely a career-crippling one, as Strome has made strides to improve over the last few years and showed once again after heading back to the junior ranks that he could be a dominant offensive force. It was hoped that he could make the jump to the NHL this year and remain there, but that just hasn’t happened. Instead, he’s spent most of the season in the minor leagues with the Tucson Roadrunners, where he’s been named player of the month and generally shown his talents on a nightly basis. With 50 points in 47 games he’s one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the minor leagues, and is ready to try again at the highest level. The Coyotes agree, and according to Craig Morgan of AZSports will recall Strome—along with Trevor Murphy—for their upcoming road trip.

If the Coyotes are to find success in the coming years, Strome is going to have to produce at the NHL level. The players selected just after him in the 2015 draft—Mitch Marner, Noah Hanifin among them—have already settled into roles on their teams as top contributors. Strome has to do the same, and it needs to start soon. Now 21-years old, the center has just two points in 18 career games but could change the league’s perspective in just a few contests down the road. If he can show off those elite offensive talents that made him the third-overall pick, and help Arizona take a few more strides forward—if for no reason other than pride—he can head into the summer with the confidence that he’ll be a full-time player in 2018-19.

Murphy, 22, is looking to make any sort of impact at the NHL level after spending the last few years in the minor leagues. The undrafted defenseman will be filling in for Jason Demers, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an upper-body injury. Murphy was acquired from the Nashville Predators on deadline day in a minor league deal, but is a puck-moving defenseman that has powerplay experience. Where he’ll fit in on Arizona’s blue line is unclear, but with Demers out for the next few weeks there will be plenty of minutes to go around.

Antti Raanta's Injury Concerns Expected To Be Factor In Extension Discussions

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The Blues announced that they have recalled goaltender Ville Husso from San Antonio of the AHL under emergency conditions.  This comes on the heels of Carter Hutton missing practice today as he deals with a sore neck.  Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that Hutton went to a specialist and an update on his condition is expected on Thursday.

If St. Louis is going to be without Hutton for any extended period of time, that could deal a big blow to their postseason hopes.  Jake Allen opened up the season as the starter but has struggled for the most part, posting his highest goals against average of his career (2.76) while Hutton has the lowest GAA (2.02) and highest save percentage (.934) among qualifying goaltenders.  Heading into tonight’s games, the Blues are sixth in the Central Division and are three points out of a tie for the last Wild Card spot in the West.

More goalie notes from around the league:

  • Penguins goaltender Matt Murray is making “significant progress” in his recovery from a concussion, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters, including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He has participated in at least part of practice for the second straight day although there is no firm timetable for his return to action.  Sullivan added that they don’t have a set number of starts that they would like Murray to receive between now and the playoffs; including tonight’s game against the Rangers, Pittsburgh has a dozen games left this season.
  • Antti Raanta’s injury issues this season are expected to play a role in talks as he and Arizona discuss a contract extension, Coyotes writer Craig Morgan reports in his latest piece for FanRag Sports. He has been unavailable for 35% of their games so far with five separate injuries (including the preseason) but has already established a new career-high in games played this year with 39.  There’s no doubt that Raanta will land a considerable raise from the $1MM he’s currently getting but getting back into the lineup and holding down the starting workload the rest of the year may play a key role in how big that raise will be.

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