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Snapshots: Desjardins, Fisher, Gilbert, Chychrun

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Darren Dreger’s been making the radio rounds of late and today, while appearing on Ottawa’s TSN 1200, among many notes the NHL insider discussed was the suggestion that Vancouver bench boss Willie Desjardins could soon find himself on the hot seat if the Canucks can’t right the ship in short order. Dreger was clear that he didn’t believe that was the case as of this moment but the organization believes it has a roster capable of making the playoffs and if the team falls further out of the race, they could decide to make a change behind the bench.

“I’m not suggesting he’s on the hot seat today as we have this conversation. But Jim Benning, the general manager, had a much higher view of where he thought this team was coming out of training camp. He told many that he believed that the Vancouver Canucks are a playoff team and would definitely contend for a playoff spot. And they’re not playing that way right now.”

The Canucks got off to a surprisingly strong start winning their first four games but have since lost five straight to even their record at 4 – 4 – 1. Offense. or rather a lack of, is the biggest issue in Vancouver as the team is last in the league in goal scoring, averaging just 1.78 per contest. Their power play is also among the worst in the NHL converting just 10.7% of their opportunities, which ranks 26th overall.

The team invested heavily in skilled Swedish winger Loui Eriksson, to the tune of a six-year, $36MM contract this offseason but the former Bruin has failed to find the back of the net in nine games with Vancouver. Bo Horvat leads the club in goals with four but only five players have tallied more than once this season. At the other end of the scoring spectrum, the New York Rangers lead the league averaging four goals per contest with 10 players who have at least two markers on the campaign.

Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot relays a quote from Pierre LeBrun indicating the Canucks would like to pull the trigger on a deal for a proven 20-goal scorer, assuming they can find a trade partner. They’ve been rumored to be in that market since the summer but aside from inking Eriksson the Canucks have done little in the way of adding impact offensive talent.

Desjardins is in his third season as coach of the Canucks and owns a career mark of 83 – 71 -19. He guided the team to a 101-point season and a second place finish in the Pacific Division in 2014-15, his first as bench boss. Last season, Vancouver dropped 26 points in the standings and placed sixth in their division. Prior to being hired in Vancouver, Desjardins served as head coach of the Dallas Stars AHL affiliate and guided them to the Calder Cup championship in 2014.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Mike Fisher, who was injured in Tuesday’s 5 – 1 win over Colorado, is being listed as day-to-day with an upper-body-injury, tweets Adam Vingan of The Tennessean. Fisher, who replaced Shea Weber as Nashville’s captain, is tied for second on the club in scoring with five points in eight games. Now in his 17th season in the NHL, Fisher has scored 261 goals with 287 assists in 1,024 contests.
  • According to the NHL Department of Player Safety (Twitter link) Los Angeles Kings defenseman Tom Gilbert will face a hearing for his hit on Nick Ritchie of the Anaheim Ducks Tuesday night. No penalty was assessed on the play but the league indicated the hearing is for boarding/charging. Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register provides an update on Ritchie and says the big winger won’t be in Anaheim’s lineup tonight as the Ducks host Pittsburgh. Gilbert has appeared in eight of L.A.’s 10 games this season and has recorded three points. Ritchie, meanwhile, has scored two goals and three points in 10 contests with Anaheim.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have elected to keep rookie defenseman Jakob Chychrun on the roster instead of returning the 18-year-old blue liner to his junior team, according to Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports. As a result, Chychrun will burn the first season of his three-year entry-level contract. The Coyotes made a trade with Detroit during the 2016 entry draft to move up four spots to select Chychrun and so far has rewarded management’s faith. Chychurn has averaged 17:15 of ice time and has three points in eight games so far.

Snapshots: Coyotes, Lightning, Backes

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • The Phoenix Coyotes have assigned center Christian Dvorak to the team’s AHL affiliate Tuscon Roadrunners. Dvorak has zero goals and three assists in seven games for the Coyotes. The Coyotes did not immediately recall another player, which means young prospect Dylan Strome looks to have an extended playing opportunity tonight. Strome—Arizona’s 3rd overall draft pick last year—has only played three games this season. AZ Sports writer Craig Morgan says not to expect Dvorak to be in Tucson for long because Arizona will be shuttling AHL-eligible players back and forth to both save cap space and provide additional playing time.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled defenseman Slater Koekkoek and reassigned Matt Taormina. The move comes ahead of the Lightning’s Tuesday night game against the New York Islanders. Koekkoek was originally drafted 10th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, but has not yet lived up to expectations. He made the Lightning out of camp this season, but was a healthy scratch for the team’s first three games. Tampa Bay then sent Koekkoek down to the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) to get more playing time. Taomina has been a career AHLer, and was called up for one game before being sent back down.
  • Boston Bruins forward David Backes is expected to miss the next two games, according to head coach Claude Julien. Backes underwent surgery last week to remedy his olecranon bursitis (elbow inflammation) and has been out since October 25th. The Bruins are holding Backes out now to prevent infection and to ensure that he heals properly. Backes has been productive since signing with the Bruins in the offseason, scoring 2G and 2A in 5 games.

Pacific Notes: Flames, Nurse, Canucks, Capobianco

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One of the concerns for the Calgary Flames so far this season has been their struggles with staying out of the penalty box.  Through nine games, the team has taken 49 minor penalties and are killing penalties with a success rate of only 73.2%.  As Postmedia’s Kristen Odland notes, head coach Glen Gulutzan is beginning to bench players who commit too many unnecessary fouls.

Recently, Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, and Kris Versteeg were all sat down for a long stretch during a game after taking bad penalties, two of which came back to bite them in the form of a power play goal allowed.  In particular, Bennett has been a frequent offender as his ten penalties taken leads the entire league.  He’s already more than halfway to surpassing his penalties minute total from last season in just the first month of the season alone.

Last season, Bennett was ineligible to be assigned to the AHL as he was still of junior age.  That isn’t the case this time around which means that if his penalty troubles continue, Gulutzan could opt to send him down to send him a message.  There is precedence for him sending a young player down for that reason too as he did that back in Dallas with Antoine Roussel.  With six points through nine games, Bennett is off to a good start offensively but could be even more effective if he can stay out of the sin bin more consistently.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse has seen his role and ice time scaled back this year and is responding with a strong start to his sophomore campaign, writes Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Head coach Todd McLellan acknowledged that due to injuries last season, the team gave Nurse too many tasks and have made a concerted effort to scale back on those this season.  As their top blueline prospect, McLellan also added that the team still plans to give him more responsibility over time.  Nurse has a goal and two assists through eight games so far this season while averaging 17:19 per night, down nearly three minutes per contest compared to 2015-16.
  • Vancouver wingers Alexandre Burrows (neck) and Derek Dorsett (shoulder) could be ready to play in time for their next game on Wednesday in Montreal, reports Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun. Both players have missed the last four games and are currently on injured reserve.  The Canucks sit dead last in the NHL in goals per game with just 1.78 so even though Burrows and Dorsett aren’t big offensive contributors for the team, they still might be able to give Vancouver a boost as they embark on a six game Eastern road trip.
  • The Coyotes announced that they have signed defenceman Kyle Capobianco to a three year, entry-level contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.  Capobianco was Arizona’s third round pick (63rd overall) back in 2015.  He’s off to a strong start with Sudbury of the OHL this season with four goals and seven assists in 12 games so far.

Michael Stone Injured Yet Again In Arizona

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Arizona Coyotes defenseman Michael Stone just can’t stay healthy. In just his fourth game back from an injury from last season, Stone suffered an upper-body injury in Thursday night’s, left early and did not return. There has not been any official word as to the specifics or extent of the injury. Stone is considered day-to-day and is questionable for tonight’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.

Stone was having a productive season in 2015-16, with 36 points in 75 games, but a knee injury in late March forced the blue liner out of the lineup. Stone ended up missing the final two weeks of the season. After undergoing surgery to repair the damaged ACL and MCL in his knee, Stone began working toward a return, but his rehab took longer than anticipated. Stone missed the entire preseason and beginning of the regular season, but finally made his way into the Coyotes lineup last week. He already has three points in three and most of a fourth game before getting injured again.

A restricted free agent after the end of last season, the negotiations between Stone and Arizona lasted well into July before the two sides agreed to just a one-year pact late in the month. Many believed that the Coyotes already had their concerns about Stone’s durability, and were uncomfortable with giving a multi-year deal to a player coming off of serious knee surgery. Thus far, their skepticism seems reasonable as Stone was not ready for the start of the season and already is hurt again. However, this creates a tough situation for a valuable player. Although Stone is not the best in his own zone, he is a top-end puck-mover when healthy, and the Coyotes have a major hole on the back end when he is not in the lineup. With a league-worst four points thus far this season, an argument can be made the the Arizona offense has struggled without Stone making plays ever night. Although Stone’s injury status is a concern, they now have to determine this season whether it is worth it to resign the right-shot possession defenseman or else let him become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, when another team will surely take that on the risk/reward associated with the 26-year-old. If Stone can bounce back from this setback quickly and stay healthy for most of the season, Arizona will surely be interested in resigning one of their better defenseman. If not, his status with the team will be a question throughout 2016-17.

Pacific Division Snapshots: Boedker, Megna, Stecher, McGinn

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After an “underwhelming” start to the 2016-17 campaign, San Jose bench boss Peter DeBoer has shuffled his lines in an effort to spark the 2 – 3 Sharks, writes Paul Gackle of The Mercury News. Tomas Hertl, who has spent much of the season skating on the top line with Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton, slides down the lineup and will center the third line. Meanwhile, Mikkel Boedker and Joel Ward have been promoted and will each move up a line.

Hertl, who has two goals and three points in six contests, will center a line with Patrick Marleau and Melker Karlsson on his wings. Boedker joins the aforementioned Pavelski and Thornton on the first line. Ward takes over as the second line right wing and will skate with Logan Couture and Joonas Donskoi.

For DeBoer, it’s not about punishing poor play or rewarding good; it’s about trying to find the right combinations that will allow the coach to roll four forward lines.

“It’s not a panic situation or anything, but you’re always looking for ways to get the most out of your group and our four-line game hasn’t been where I want it to be. I want to make sure that we are a four-line team and we’ll keep shuffling things until we are.”

Hertl’s play at center last year when Couture was out gave DeBoer the necessary confidence to move the young Czech forward back to the pivot spot.

 “Hertl can play anywhere, his game is at that point. He’s a good enough player now that, not only can he play anywhere, I think he can make other people better around him.”

The Sharks currently sit tied with Anaheim for third in the Pacific Division but have a minus-four goal differential and have tallied just 14 markers on the season. Whether DeBoer’s changes pay off for the Sharks remains to be seen but it’s evident some form of shakeup was needed in San Jose.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • The Vancouver Canucks have announced via their team website that they have recalled forward Jayson Megna and defenseman Troy Stecher from Utica of the AHL. Furthermore, according to Jon Abbott who covers the Canucks for TSN1040, Megna is slated to play on the fourth line tonight against Ottawa. Stecher is set to make his NHL debut tonight and will skate with Alex Edler, with whom he partnered during preseason action, again per Abbott. Megna appeared in six games for the New York Rangers in 2015-16, netting a single goal and two points for the Blueshirts. Stecher signed with Vancouver as an undrafted free agent following three seasons playing for the University of North Dakota. The two draw into the lineup due to the continued absences of Derek Dorsett, Alexandre Burrows and Chris Tanev.
  • The Arizona Coyotes will receive a welcome boost tonight as offseason free agent addition Jamie McGinn is set to make his 2016-17 season debut, as Coyotes Senior Director of News Content Dave Vest writes. McGinn missed the team’s first five games due to an upper-body-injury. Head coach Dave Tippett says the veteran wing will have to quickly readjust to the speed and pace of the game:  “He’s going to have to get up and going. At least he had exhibition games (and) played well in the exhibition games. He’s been off for a couple weeks now. The pace has gone up. He’ll have to get into the pace of the game, but he’s a good veteran guy. He’s hard around the front of the net. Hopefully he brings us a little veteran presence we need right now.” Vest also notes that goalie Justin Peters is slated to make his first start of the 2016-17 campaign between the pipes tonight for the Coyotes. The 30-year-old Peters, who has 67 NHL starts on his resume, appeared in a relief role for the Coyotes last Thursday and stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced. Peters has assumed the backup role in Arizona behind Louis Domingue following the lower-body-injury to Mike Smith.

 

Milan Michalek, Jamie McBain, Steve Bernier All Clear Waivers

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October 25: Michalek, McBain, and Bernier all cleared waivers, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (Twitter link).

October 24: The Toronto Maple Leafs have waived winger Milan Michalek while the Arizona Coyotes have placed defenseman Jamie McBain on waivers, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (Twitter links).  They join Steve Bernier on the waiver wire, whose signing and waiving were reported earlier today.

Michalek was acquired by Toronto last season as a salary throw-in as part of the Dion Phaneuf trade with Ottawa.  He played in just 13 games with the Leafs last season, picking up a goal and five assists.  He’s off to a quieter start this year, with a goal and an assist in five games while averaging just 14:16 per night, his lowest ice time since his rookie season back in 2003-04 (where he played in just two contests).

For his career, the 31 year old has played in 747 games with the Sharks, Senators, and Maple Leafs.  He has 208 goals and 238 assists under his belt as well as four years with 55 or more points, the most recent coming in 2011-12.  However, with a salary and cap hit of $4MM, it’s unlikely that any team will claim him, even if they think he could help their team.  More likely will be that teams will wait to see if Toronto is willing to retain any salary in a trade for him down the road.

As for McBain, he’s in his first year with the Coyotes after signing a one year, two-way deal early in free agency, one that pays him $650K in the NHL and $300K at the AHL level.  He has suited up in three games with Arizona so far this season, being held off the scoresheet while averaging 16:40 per game.

After spending the first four years of his career in Carolina, McBain has bounced around in recent years with stints in Buffalo and Los Angeles on top of his time with the Coyotes.  He has played in 348 career NHL contests, picking up 30 goals and 80 assists.

The move bodes well for Coyotes rookie blueliner Jakob Chychrun who is now one of seven remaining defensemen with the team.  He has played in four games so far and hasn’t looked out of place, picking up three points while logging over 16 minutes per night.

Additionally, Ottawa’s Phil Varone cleared waivers and will be assigned to Binghamton of the AHL.

Sunday Evening Review: The Week’s Most Important Posts

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Did you miss a post this week? PHR has you covered by highlighting the most important news in the NHL last week:

Top KHL Salaries and their NHL Comparables
KHL insider Aivis Kalnins reported the top 30 KHL player salaries on Monday, and the amounts pale in comparison to their NHL counterparts. The highest paid KHL player is Ilya Kovalchuk, who makes $5.5MM. PHR’s Brett Barrett notes that 99 NHL players make more money than Kovalchuk.

Penguins Goalie Matt Murray Signs Extension
The Penguins signed goaltender Matt Murray to a three-year contract extension worth $3.75MM a year. Murray is currently on the shelf as he recovers from a broken hand suffered in the World Cup of Hockey. The signing signifies the team’s commitment to Murray, and also to moving Marc-Andre Fleury sooner rather than later.

Patrick Sharp Out With Concussion
Dallas Stars forward Patrick Sharp will be out for a significant amount of time after suffering a concussion earlier this week. Sharp was hit by Los Angeles Kings defenseman Brayden McNabb and appeared to hit his head as he fell to the ice. This marks yet another significant injury for the Dallas Stars—Patrick Eaves, Ales Hemsky, and Cody Eakin have yet to start a game this season due to injury.

Douglas Murray Retires
Swedish defenseman Douglas Murray announced his retirement on Friday. The veteran had not received an NHL contract offer this season and did not consider joining another league. He last played in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens in 2013-14.

Kings Goalie Jeff Zatkoff Injured
The Los Angeles Kings were dealt another goaltending blow as backup Jeff Zatkoff went down with a groin injury. The Kings are already without starter Jonathan Quick, and Zatkoff’s injury means the Kings have to rely on a tandem of Peter Budaj and Jack Campbell. The former is a 34 year-old perennial backup who started one game last season, and the latter was acquired from the Dallas Stars for defenseman Nick Ebert.

Jacques Demers Hospitalized Saturday
Former NHL Coach Jacques Demers was hospitalized yesterday after suffering what appeared to be a second stroke—but was later determined to be an infection. Demers is remembered for coaching the Montreal Canadiens to their last Stanley Cup, and also coached in Tampa Bay, Detroit, St. Louis, and Quebec.

Coyotes Goalie Mike Smith Injured
The Arizona Coyotes are without goaltender Mike Smith again as he suffered a left knee injury in the Coyotes’ loss to the Ottawa Senators. Backup goaltender Louis Domingue will take over the starting duties and the Coyotes will need him to shine if they want to avoid a slow start to the season.

Mike Smith Listed As Week To Week With Lower-Body Injury

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According to Craig Morgan of AZSports among others, Coyotes’ netminder Mike Smith is now week-to-week with a lower body injury. Smith suffered the injury on Tuesday when he “got twisted up” making a save. He was removed from the game and though the team says it isn’t severe, he’ll undergo additional testing when the team returns home.

Smith is now 34 and may have his best and healthiest hockey behind him. After suiting up in at least 60 games from 2013-15, he only started 32 last season due to core muscle surgery. While the former Vezina nominee played well in his limited role, just two years ago saw the worst season of his career. In 2014-15 the netminder saw his GAA balloon to 3.16 while his save percentage dropped to a middling .904.

Louis Domingue will take over once again as the starter during Smith’s absence, a role which he embraced last season. In 39 games, the young netminder put up a .912 save percentage with a 2.75 GAA. While those numbers are not elite by any means, they are encouraging for a 23-year old in his first real taste of the grind of an NHL schedule.

If the Coyotes are to compete for the playoffs this season, they’ll need Domingue to not only perform well in these next few weeks, but prove that he can handle a full load for the season. Smith would be an excellent second option once he’s healed fully and could lend support and guidance to the younger netminder as he finds his footing in the NHL.

Injury Updates: Coyotes, Winnik, Rask, Wild

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Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith has been sent back to Arizona to be evaluated by team doctors, notes Sarah McLellan of AZ Central.  He left Tuesday’s game in Ottawa with what is believed to be a knee injury.  Head coach Dave Tippett stated that no firm diagnosis has been given and accordingly, there’s no word yet on how long he might miss although the team has placed him on injured reserve.  Craig Morgan of AZ Central adds (via Twitter) that the placement was made retroactive to October 18th.

Also from McLellan, winger Jamie McGinn is expected to rejoin the team on Saturday although he’s not expected to play right away as the team wants to get him into some practices before putting him in the lineup.

In the meantime, the team will run with backup Louis Domingue (who is between the pipes again tonight against the Islanders despite being pulled early last night in Montreal) and third stringer Justin Peters.

Other injury news from around the league:

  • While Washington left winger Daniel Winnik was able to return to the game on Thursday despite taking a puck to the head, he didn’t come away completely injury free, writes Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. After the game, head coach Barry Trotz told reporters that Winnik lost a small piece of his ear on the play.
  • Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask did not skate with the team on Friday as he once again is dealing with ‘general soreness’, reports CSN NE’s Joe Haggerty. Rask was dealing with this issue when he sat out last Saturday against Toronto although he returned to the lineup this week and made 28 of 29 saves in a win against New Jersey on Thursday.  As a result, he is now listed as questionable to play on Saturday night against Montreal.
  • Minnesota blueliner Jared Spurgeon suffered an upper body injury in the third period against Toronto, notes Michael Russo of the Minnesota Star-Tribune. Meanwhile, left winger Erik Haula looked to further aggravate an existing lower body issue on Thursday night and Russo adds that he is not walking particularly well off the ice.  Both players did not practice.  Defenseman Marco Scandella, who didn’t play due to an illness versus the Leafs, did skate and potentially could slide into Spurgeon’s spot in the lineup if he is unable to play Saturday against New Jersey.

Jarred Tinordi Clears Waivers

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Oct. 22: Tinordi has cleared waivers, reports James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail (Twitter link).

Oct. 21: With his 20-game suspension for testing positive for a performance enhancing substance now about to finish (the final game is tonight), the Coyotes have placed defenseman Jarred Tinordi on waivers, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link).

It has been a rough time for Tinordi over the past couple of seasons.  The former Montreal first rounder (22nd overall) in 2010 spent most of last season as a healthy scratch with the Canadiens as they didn’t want to risk losing him for nothing via waivers.  Eventually, they dealt him to the Coyotes as part of a series of trades that yielded them tough guy John Scott and defenseman Victor Bartley, both of whom left as free agents this summer.  (Scott remains unsigned while Bartley signed a two-way deal with Minnesota.)

Tinordi got into seven games with Arizona last season before the suspension and played in just ten total NHL games between the two organizations where he was held pointless with a -5 rating and 17 PIMS while averaging 14:18 per game.  He also played in six AHL games on conditioning stints with Montreal, picking up a pair of assists in that span.

The Coyotes declined to tender him a qualifying offer back in June but agreed to a one year, two-way contract worth $700K in the NHL and $150K at the minor league level in early July.

In his career, the 24 year old has played in just 53 NHL games between Montreal and Arizona, recording six assists, a -7 rating, and 78 PIMS while averaging 13:27 per game.  If he clears at 11am on Saturday, the Coyotes plan to assign him to their AHL affiliate in Tucson.

[Related: Coyotes Depth Chart]

Still with the waiver wire, Columbus blueliner Cody Goloubef cleared on Friday and has been assigned to Cleveland of the AHL.

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