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Bruins, Jets Among Teams Interested In Mattias Ekholm

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One of the top prizes of the trade deadline – if he ultimately gets dealt – is Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm.  A top-four blueliner is hard to come by at this time of year, especially one that’s on an affordable contract for next season.  Accordingly, there will be no shortage of suitors, even in a salary cap environment where most contenders can’t afford to add anyone of consequence without offsetting money.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 31 Thoughts column that the Jets and Bruins are among the teams that are interested in Ekholm’s services.

The 30-year-old has been a minutes-eater for several seasons now, logging more than 23 per night over each of the last four seasons, a number that hasn’t dipped much this year as Ekholm is at 22:18 per game in 2020-21.  He’s playing at a 33-point pace offensively, a mark that he has reached in four of the last five seasons as well.  Often matched against top lines from other teams, he’s someone that can conceivably slot onto the top pairing which will have many contenders intrigued.

The easy parallel to draw in terms of what the cost will be is Toronto’s acquisition of Jake Muzzin two years ago.  Muzzin’s contract situation was similar to Ekholm’s deal ($3.75MM this season and next before being UFA-eligible) and Friedman notes that Nashville is using Muzzin’s return as a template for these talks.  That would include a first-round pick plus a pair of quality prospects.

There is definitely a case to be made for both Boston and Winnipeg to pay that price.  The Bruins never replaced Torey Krug who left for St. Louis in free agency last summer which has left a vacancy in their top-four.  Their younger blueliners have held their own in that role but if they have eyes on contending, they’d be in better shape with a proven veteran in that spot.  Jarred Tinordi, a recent waiver claim to cover for some recent injuries, suffered an upper-body injury tonight against Pittsburgh as well.

As for the Jets, defense has been a considerable weakness for them the last couple of years with the exodus of talent they’ve had.  Two years ago, Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers, and Ben Chiarot were all fixtures on their back end but all four are gone now with Neal Pionk being the only impact blueliner added since then.  Ekholm would form a nice one-two punch on the left side with Josh Morrissey and give that unit some stability.  Of course, there is the quarantine period to contend with but GM Kevin Cheveldayoff indicated yesterday that it’s not a concern for him; they’ve already made one big move this season with that in place as it is.

Ekholm has made it known that his preference is to remain in Nashville but as Friedman puts it, the veteran may be the ‘belle of the trading ball’ at the moment.  If that’s the case, GM David Poile may eventually be offered an offer that’s too good to pass up on between now and next month’s trade deadline which means the defenseman may not get his wish.

Snapshots: Jets, Americans, Kallionkieli

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The Winnipeg Jets are in action tonight against the Montreal Canadiens after going 7-2-1 in their last 10, climbing all the way to second in the North Division. One might assume that the team is looking to supplement their imposing roster in a trade and do it soon, given the two-week quarantine any newcomer will require if he comes from a U.S.-based team.

Speaking with reporters including Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff explained that he is willing to make another deal to improve the club if the fit is right, regardless of COVID protocols and the wait. Mattias Ekholm has been linked to the Jets in recent days, but Cheveldayoff wouldn’t comment on any specifics.

  • The Rochester Americans are still not playing thanks to at least one positive coronavirus test and have announced a new postponement for this week. The team’s Wednesday game against the Syracuse Crunch has been postponed with no current makeup date, while Saturday’s game that was already pushed will now be played on May 3. The Americans players continue to be unavailable for the Buffalo Sabres as they stay in the protocol.
  • The Henderson Silver Knights have a new player to use after Marcus Kallionkielli was reassigned from Finland to the AHL today. The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick in 2019 and spent part of last season with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL. In nine games with HIFK’s junior squad in Finland this season, he recorded five points.

Snapshots: Blue Jackets, Islanders, Stastny, Yamamoto

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The Columbus Blue Jackets were forced to trade away center Pierre-Luc Dubois, who demanded a trade. Their return was very good in Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic, however, neither player fulfilled the team’s biggest hole — the one that Dubois left — the No. 1 center. And now, the Blue Jackets are looking for a way to fill that hole, which could be challenging, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required).

The team has a history of looking for a No. 1 center in the past as they struggled to find a top center to put next to Rick Nash. Not much has changed as the team has looked like they found their answer in Ryan Johansen and eventually Dubois. However, with Dubois gone and Max Domi playing on the wing at the moment, there again is quite a hole in the top of their lineup. However, Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said he’s looking outside the organization for help.

“We’ll keep searching and doing our job and building a team. We have some very good potential center ice men growing into that role within our team. But we’re also going to look for ways to strengthen that position from the outside.”

  • The New York Islanders are looking for some help for their third line, according to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta. The team is looking for a left wing they can pair with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and rookie Oliver Wahlstrom. However, the problem for New York and general manager Lou Lamoriello is that New York has little to no cap space to work with. So, in order to acquire that forward, the team will have to move out equal salary which will be challenging. Up until now, there has been no interest in Leo Komarov. According to Pagnotta, there had been some discussion of swapping Komarov for Brett Connolly, but talks stalled since Florida wasn’t willing to retain some of Connolly’s salary to make the money fit.
  • When asked in his most recent mailbag whether the Winnipeg Jets should consider trading Paul Stastny at the trade deadline, Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe was quick to answer ’no.’ Stastny, who has moved to the wing and suddenly finds himself next to Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, has played quite well in that role. With his quiet leadership and stability on the team, Wiebe believes the team will attempt to sign Stastny to a one-year extension to bring him back next year at a cheaper cost rather than trade him away.
  • Edmonton Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto has been fined $3,854 by the Department of Player Safety for tripping Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson. The fine is the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement. The incident (video here) occurred at 14:12 of the first period when Yamamoto pulled the legs out from underneath Andersson in front of the Flames net. He was assessed a two-minute minor for tripping.

North Division Champion May Need To Adopt U.S. Home For Semis, Cup Final

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While progress is being made against the spread of the Coronavirus daily, there are still concerns about the restrictions that may still be in place even months from now. Speaking on TSN’s “Insider Trading” on Thursday night, Pierre LeBrun expressed that there remain worries that the Canadian borders will still be closed in June. By that time, the NHL regular season will be over and the four North Division playoff teams will have battled each other and produced a winner. At that point, the Canadian team can no longer be separated from their American counterparts as they have been during the regular season. The team will need to play on the road in the U.S. as well as host an American team in the semifinal round as well as possibly in the Stanley Cup Final. If crossing the Canadian border still requires a 14-day quarantine, or really any multi-day quarantine, by that time then a playoff series cannot occur in Canada.

Of course, given the progress being made LeBrun hopes that Canada will have loosened its border policies over the next three months. Even if the COVID climate in Canada has improved to the point that the national and provincial governments are willing to make an exception and put together specific protocol for NHL travel, that would work. Otherwise, the only alternative solution that LeBrun has heard to this point would see the Canadian winner relocate to the nearest American city that would be a suitable home. While not an ideal option for the team or its fans, this would allow the series to occur normally. Selecting a close city would also require the least amount of travel for the Canadians and would make the logistics of setting up a temporary home easier. LeBrun notes that the league would likely have the cities for selected for each of the four North Division finalists when the postseason begins so to allow time to set up their new home.

While LeBrun offered Buffalo as the new location for the division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs, Minneapolis for the current second-place Winnipeg Jets, and an early introduction to the NHL for the city of Seattle in the event of an epic comeback for the Vancouver Canucks this season, that is where the easy relocations end. The closest American city to the Montreal Canadiens is Boston, an unlikely destination not only due to the age-old rivalry but also because the Bruins are a potential finalist and even opponent. Would Montreal also call Buffalo home? They could also move to a current or former AHL city like Portland, Manchester, Albany, Utica, or Syracuse. The closest potential home may even be Burlington, Vermont, home of of the University of Vermont. Montreal has options, albeit not without work to do. However, the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames are more difficult. The Alberta cities are not “close” to any American NHL or AHL cities. Seattle could be the best bet for these teams as well, if the arena is ready to go. However, Grand Forks, North Dakota, home to the University of North Dakota, made a strong pitch to the NHL to be a hub city for last season’s re-start and could make a similar offer to house the Oilers or Flames (or the neighboring Jets). Either way, the Alberta teams would be traveling quite far from home to close out the postseason. The plan would work, but surely the league and its Canadian contingent are hoping it won’t come to that when the time arrives in June.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Winnipeg Jets

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We’ve made it past the holiday season but there is still plenty to be thankful for. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this season comes with a bit of a change. Typically at this time of the calendar year, the trade deadline is fast approaching but now, we’re only at the one-quarter mark.  Still, we’ll analyze what they’re happy about so far and what they can be hoping for in the months to come.

What are the Jets most thankful for?

For years, Winnipeg has been looking to improve their depth down the middle which resulted in several trades for rental players including adding Paul Stastny for the second time last fall.  With Mark Scheifele established as a legitimate number one center, Stastny gave them a bit of insurance with Bryan Little out for the season.  That’s good but not great.

That changed with last month’s acquisition of Pierre-Luc Dubois from Columbus.  Dubois, who was the top pivot with the Blue Jackets, gives Winnipeg a second high-quality option down the middle.  Perhaps more importantly, Dubois is team-controllable for three more years which lines him up with Scheifele.  There are some strong one-two center punches in the North Division and Winnipeg now has one of them and will have them in place for a while yet once Dubois moves to the middle (he has started on the wing for the time being).

Who are the Jets most thankful for?

Connor Hellebuyck.  Last year’s Vezina-winning goaltender hasn’t had the best of defenses playing in front of him (more on that shortly) and with some inconsistent performances from his backups, he has had to log a heavy workload, leading all netminders in games played in two of the last three seasons and facing the most shots in each of the last two years.  Despite that, Hellebuyck has been able to provide the Jets with steady, above-average goaltending on a regular basis for a reasonable price; his $6.167MM AAV is eighth in the league and is only about $1MM higher than the median price tag among starters.  He’s still signed for three more years after this one so Winnipeg doesn’t have to worry about their goaltending anytime soon.

What would the Jets be even more thankful for?

One of their young defensemen stepping into a top-four role.  Josh Morrissey is a capable core blueliner and Neal Pionk has thrived since coming over from the Jacob Trouba trade.  After that, the depth starts to go down in a hurry.  Dylan DeMelo is a capable third-pairing option which is nice to have but right now, Derek Forbort is logging more than 21 minutes a night just one season removed from being limited to all of 20 games, most of which were on the third pairing.  He’s a serviceable blueliner but in an ideal world, he’s not playing anywhere near that much.

Meanwhile, Winnipeg has several young defenders with some upside in Tucker Poolman, Sami Niku, Logan Stanley, and Ville Heinola that have all seen NHL action this season.  The latter two were both first-round selections and are key cogs of their back end of the future but haven’t shown that they’re ready yet for a top-four spot; Heinola also has contract considerations in terms of extending team control to factor in.  Unless they’re able to add someone via trade over the next six weeks, the improvement is going to have to come from within.  One of these four stepping up would give them a huge boost heading into the playoff push.

What should be on the Jets’ wish list?

Let’s stick with the defense.  A top-four blueliner is a piece that would really elevate the Jets to another level for the stretch run.  They do have some LTIR space at their disposal – about $2.8MM worth – and with Little out for the year, they can safely spend without having to plan about getting into compliance.  It’s not a situation where it will increase in value on a daily basis like regular cap room so if GM Kevin Cheveldayoff finds the right fit, he can pull the trigger sooner than later.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Eichel/Krueger, Sutter, Wheeler, Grzelcyk

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Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger isn’t having a good week. The team has lost three straight, including a 3-0 shutout loss to Philadelphia Sunday. When star Jack Eichel went down with an injury and was expected to miss time earlier this week, Krueger told the press, including The Athletic’s John Vogl that Eichel got hurt during warm-ups on Thursday and his injury was not related to the fact that he missed the morning skate that day.

Eichel, who played Sunday, said after Sunday’s game that the injury didn’t happen in warm-ups like Krueger said. Eichel said the injury occurred during Tuesday’s game against New Jersey, contradicting Krueger’s statement three days earlier.

When Vogl asked about his job status, Krueger said he wasn’t worried.

“Absolutely not, John,” said Krueger. “If you do, I don’t know. But I’m not wired that way, just so you know. I’m wired to work on solutions and take responsibility, and I do both right now.”

Not a good sign in Buffalo.

  • Vancouver Canucks center Brandon Sutter is having a solid season in the final year of his five-year, $21.9MM contract. The 32-year-old has scored six goals in 24 games so far this year. Despite being a logical trade chip for the upcoming trade deadline on April 12th, Sutter says he wants to stay with the Canucks past this year, according to The Province’s Ben Kuzma. “You know when your contract is up there’s always going to be speculation and talk,” he said. “For me, I’m just focused on this group and this team. I want to be here and this is where I want to stay. Really no secrets there from me.”
  • Just because the Winnipeg Jets asked defenseman Toby Enstrom to waive his no-movement clause so the team could protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie in the 2017 Vegas expansion draft, don’t expect Winnipeg to do the same with Blake Wheeler this year for the upcoming Seattle expansion draft. The Athletic’s Murat Ates (subscription required) writes that Wheeler would fit the profile of someone the Seattle Kraken would pass on if he were left exposed, considering he’s 35, has three more years at $8.25MM and is no longer a dominant top-line forward (although still a solid top-six player). The scribe notes that the Jets would never ask him to waive his no-movement clause. Winnipeg intends to use Wheeler as well as Mark Scheifele as examples to other Jets’ players that the team will stick with their stars for their entire career.
  • Joe Haggerty of BostonHockeyNow writes the Boston Bruins could see the return of top-four defenseman Matt Grzelcyk soon. The 27-year-old blueliner practiced Saturday, but wasn’t ready to go Sunday against the Rangers. Grzelcyk has been out with a lower-body injury and has missed all but two games since Jan. 21. He has tried to come back twice when he obviously wasn’t ready. Grzelcyk has only appeared in six games this year.

Luke Green Loaned To Vaasan Sport

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Winnipeg Jets prospect Luke Green hadn’t gotten into any of the first six games with the Manitoba Moose this season, so the team is sending him elsewhere to get on the ice. The 23-year-old defenseman has been loaned to Vaasan Sport in Finland where he can start getting some game action.

It’s been a long few years for Green, who was the 79th overall pick in 2016. His 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons were both cut short due to injuries (shoulder surgery and concussions), and after finally working his way back to full health in the fall of 2019, he was injured in December and never returned to action. That’s three lost seasons in a row at perhaps the most crucial period of a prospect’s development. In all, he has played just 28 AHL games to this point.

That doesn’t necessarily mean his professional career is over, but it seems extremely unlikely that Green will get another NHL contract when his entry-level deal expires this summer. He’ll be a restricted free agent, but unless the Jets believe they can still turn him into a useful asset, he’ll go non-tendered. Of course, he has a little time to change their minds and show that the high-flying offensive defenseman he was in junior is still in there, somewhere.

AHL Announces Full 2020-21 Schedule For Canadian Clubs

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Over a month since the AHL released the regular season schedules for its American teams and more than three weeks since those same teams started playing, the league has finally announced a full season schedule for its Canadian contingent. Of course, the clubs already began play over the course of the past week, but were operating on a limited schedule of just a few games. They now have a full slate to look forward to.

Like their American counterparts, the Canadian teams will all wrap up their regular seasons in mid-May. While the previously-released schedule ended on May 14, this new schedule has games up through May 16. Unlike the American teams, the Canadian clubs will all play the same amount of games. Though home and away splits differ, the Belleville Senators, Laval Rocket, Manitoba Moose, and Toronto Marlies will each play 36 games apiece.

The exception to all of this is the odd duck team of this AHL season: the Stockton Heat, an American team displaced for this year by a move to Calgary, the home of their parent club. The Heat, who were the final Canadian team to get started this season, will play a much different slate than any other team in the league due to their location away from American competition but also far from their fellow Canadian teams. “Stockton” will only play 30 games, broken up into long road trips and home stands. Their regular season schedule will also come to an end on April 29, more than two weeks before the rest of the league. The Calgary Flames knew there would be negative repercussions for relocating their farm team just before the season started, but felt the transactional benefits for the NHL club outweighed the limitations to their AHL club.

Winnipeg Jets Activate Pierre-Luc Dubois, Move Him To Wing

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The Winnipeg Jets announced they have activated center Pierre-Luc Dubois off of injured reserve and he’s expected to play Sunday against the Vancouver Canucks. The 22-year-old has missed four games with a lower-body injury. However, Dubois isn’t expected to center a line. Instead, it looks like head coach Paul Maurice has moved him to the wing to play next to Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler.

Dubois, acquired from Columbus along with a 2022 third-round pick for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic in January, only appeared in two games before going down with what Dubois referred to as a “muscle injury.” Maurice said that he believes that moving Dubois to the wing should prevent Dubois from overworking himself as well as pick up good habits from his linemates.

“There is a bunch of things there,” said Maurice (via Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe). “The first is wear and tear and minutes in his first game back. He’s had a big chunk of time off the ice. The centreman covers a lot more ice and there is a lot more grind to that. He did a great job with his shift length in his first game, we expect him to do the same. He’s still a young man, he’s got a version of Mark’s game in him – that ability to slow the game down, find holes and make plays. He also has the ability to have Blake’s game – a hard-driving, heavy in the corners type of player. I think that over time, the players I’ve played with Mark and Blake have developed that in their game. It was good for Nik Ehlers. It was good for Kyle Connor. The other option is going to be Paul Stastny and he flipping. I may do that over the course of the game.”

The current lines stand with Dubois, Scheifele and Wheeler on the first line with Stastny, Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers on the second line. loading up their top two lines. Adam Lowry would center the team’s third line.

Poll: NHL’s “Thanksgiving Trend” Revisited

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Fans of the NHL are sure to be familiar with the deeper meaning that American Thanksgiving holds each season. With unrelenting consistency, the NHL’s standings on the final Thursday of November have had great predictive ability when compared to the final regular season standings. In fact, over the past seven years the Thanksgiving standings have been about 75% accurate at forecasting eventual playoff teams, predicting 12 of 16 spots on average. Even though American Thanksgiving only rolls around less than two months into the season, three out of four teams in a playoff spot at that time will have retained their postseason berth when the season ends.

The 2019-20 season of course did not have a standard postseason, but if it had then the Thanksgiving trend would have proved even more prophetic in a shortened campaign. Last year, in which teams were limited to between 68 and 71 games apiece prior to the early termination of the regular season, the Thanksgiving standings would have predicted 13 of 16 playoff teams in the standard format. Of the three teams that would have slid out of the postseason, the Florida Panthers trailed the Toronto Maple Leafs by .014 points percentage in the Atlantic Division and the Winnipeg Jets missed out by a measly .001 points percentage behind the Calgary Flames as the final Western Conference wild card. The Thanksgiving standings were that close to predicting 15 of 16 playoff teams in the shortened season, with the unexpected slow start for the Vegas Golden Knights and hot start for the Arizona Coyotes being the other unsurprising course correction.

But how does this trend impact a season that didn’t even begin until well after American Thanksgiving? Based on total games played by Thanksgiving over the past few seasons, Thanksgiving represents about the 30% progress through the NHL season. In the current 56-game season, that comes out to about the 17-game mark. Although postponements and rescheduling have created a wide discrepancy in games played among teams this year, the league as a whole passed that 17-game average on Saturday: Happy Thanksgiving. Admittedly, the 2020-21 campaign does have a different playoff model as well, one that is somewhat stricter than the last few years without the fallback of a wildcard spot for a team on the fifth-place fringe in their division. Yet, it is still a 16-team postseason and the Thanksgiving trend should hold. Using points percentage to rank the standings (the stat may end up determining playoff position for a second consecutive season anyhow) and adjusting for the season’s makeshift divisions, here is the current “Thanksgiving” outlook:

North Division                                                             East Division

Toronto Maple Leafs (.789)                                    Boston Bruins (.733)
Montreal Canadiens (.625)                                     Philadelphia Flyers (.679)
Winnipeg Jets (.618)                                                 Washington Capitals (.594)
Edmonton Oilers (.600)                                          Pittsburgh Penguins (.594)____
Calgary Flames (.472)                                                        New Jersey Devils (.583)
Vancouver Canucks (.405)                                                New York Islanders (.559)
Ottawa Senators (.237)                                                      New York Rangers (.469)
                                                                                                Buffalo Sabres (.429)

West Division                                                                Central Division

Vegas Golden Knights (.700)                                   Carolina Hurricanes (.781)
Colorado Avalanche (.679)                                       Florida Panthers (.750)
St. Louis Blues (.611)                                                  Tampa Bay Lightning (.700)
Minnesota Wild (.571)                                                Dallas Stars (.583)                    
Los Angeles Kings (.531)                                                    Chicago Blackhawks (.579)
Arizona Coyotes (.500)                                                       Columbus Blue Jackets (.526)
San Jose Sharks (.500)                                                       Nashville Predators (.412)
Anaheim Ducks (.417)                                                         Detroit Red Wings (.325)

Now this begs the question, especially seeing how accurate the Thanksgiving standings were in last year’s shortened season but also accounting for the many disruptions for a number of teams early this season, who is the trend currently overlooking? Which teams currently outside the playoff picture, if any, do you think will make the postseason when all is said and done later this season? Use the comments section below as well to discuss which teams may fall out of the postseason and whether you feel the Thanksgiving trend will apply this season.

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