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Injury Notes: Burakovsky, Ericsson, Hanzal

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Injury updates around the NHL during tonight’s busy slate of games:

  • Washington Capitals forward Andre Burakovsky will miss the rest of tonight’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, reports the NHL’s Tom Gulitti. The Capitals’ young forward went down with an upper body injury after blocking a Detroit slapshot around the midsection that may have injured his hand. Burakovsky has 11G and 18A in 51 games this season, and is on pace for a career-high in points.
  • Tom Gulitti also reports that Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson will also miss the rest of that Washington-Detroit game. Ericsson suffered an upper body injury during a hit by Washington’s Niklas Backstrom. Ericsson has 1G and 8A in 50 games this season and averages 19:29 minutes a night on Detroit’s second defensive pairing.
  • AZCentral’s Sarah McLellan reports that pending unrestricted free agent Martin Hanzal did not participate in the Arizona Coyotes’ pregame skate this evening, meaning that Hanzal will miss tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. Scouts attending the game will surely be disappointed as Hanzal is a hot commodity for teams looking for a playoff-run rental. Hanzal has 10G and 9A in 43 games so far this season.

Avalanche Update: Bourque, Martin, Barrie

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The Colorado Avalanche released a flurry of roster updates this evening that are detailed below:

  • Injured forward Rene Bourque may return during the Avalanche’s current road trip. Bourque is day-to-day with a head injury. The fiery forward has 9G and 4A in 43 games, and zero points since the start of the new year. Bourque is having a mild resurgence year, though he hopes to regain his scoring touch as soon as possible.
  • The Avalanche have sent down goaltender Spencer Martin to the San Antonio Rampage for at least this weekend—but coach Jared Bednar says Martin could stay in San Antonio for longer. Martin was sent down to get more playing time as a starter. So far the young goaltender—who is currently only 21—has a .912 SV% and a 2.72 GAA in 28 games. The Avalanche replace Martin with Jeremy Smith, who has a .911 SV% and a 2.57 GAA in 17 AHL games.
  • Defenseman Tyson Barrie is slated to return to the Avalanche’s lineup very soon. Barrie suffered a lower body injury over a week ago. Barrie skated today, but will not suit up tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins. As the Denver Post’s Mike Chambers points out, Barrie misses his third straight game and seventh in the past nine. It hasn’t been an ideal year for Barrie, who has 3G and 20A in 44 games but a league worst -27.

Deadline Primer: New Jersey Devils

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With the trade deadline now just weeks away, we’re going to start taking a closer look at each team.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?

The New Jersey Devils are not a playoff team this season. Did anyone expect them to be? Probably not. Las Vegas odds-maker Bovada predicted they would finish 13th in the Eastern Conference with 83 points and they’re currently 12th and on pace for 85 points, so at least there’s been some improvement over the projections. However, New Jersey trails the New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, and Florida Panthers for the final wild card slot in the Eastern Conference, with little chance of catching any of them. And that’s okay.

The Devils have great young forwards in Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, and Adam Henrique locked-up long term at a reasonable rate. They also have invaluable veterans Travis Zajac, Mike Cammalleri, and Andy Greene in the fold for a while longer, along with star goalie Cory Schneider. Youngsters Damon Severson, Pavel Zacha, and Miles Wood have all had solid seasons too and more help is on the way soon in high-end forward prospects John Quenneville, Michael McLeod, Nathan Bastian and goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood. The future is bright in New Jersey, and it will only grow brighter with the Devils’ whopping 14 picks in the first four rounds of the next two drafts and $22MM in salary cap space going into next season.

As far as this year goes, New Jersey can be content with getting what they can from their pending unrestricted free agents (as they already did with Vernon Fiddler) and dealing struggling depth players as they continue to stockpile picks and prospects and have another lottery pick in their sights.

Record

23-21-10, 7th in the Metropolitan Division

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

Current Cap Space: $27,529,323
Deadline Cap Space: $41,293,985
46/50 contracts, via CapFriendly

Draft Picks

2017: NJ 1st, NJ 2nd, BOS 2nd, COL 3rd, SJ 3rd, NJ 4th, NSH 4th, NJ 5th, NJ 6th
2018: NJ 1st, NJ 2nd, FLA 2nd, NJ 3rd, TOR 3rd, NJ 4th, NJ 5th, NJ 6th, NJ 7th

Trade Chips

In what may end up being the shrewdest move by any NHL GM this season, Ray Shero picked up P.A. Parenteau off of waivers from the rival Islanders prior to puck drop on the 2016-17 season. The Isles signed Parenteau to an affordable one-year deal this summer, only to cut him in camp. Not only has he been one the Devils’ best offensive players this season, with 12 goals and 12 assists in 52 games, but he came free and will almost surely be dealt away for a nice return. That’s called turning a profit for Shero. Last year, the Islanders netted 2nd-round and 4th-round picks from the Boston Bruins for Lee Stempniak, who had 41 points at the deadline. Expect Parenteau, who should have 30+ points by March 1st, to go for a similar price in what is very much a seller’s trade market. A similar situation could be had for Kyle Quincey, who was a last-minute free agent addition to the team on a cheap one-year contract, but is quietly  having his best season since leaving the Colorado Avalanche in 2012. Quincey won’t bring back the same return as Parenteau, but holds value to teams in need of veteran depth on the blue line. The $1.25MM cap hits (worth less than $400K at the deadline) will only help in moving both players.

Jacob Josefson, Sergey Kalinin, and Seth Helgeson all appear to have hit a wall in their development. If the Devils can find takers for any and all of them, don’t be surprised if they jump at the opportunity to move on from disappointing investments.

Players To Watch

RW P.A. Parenteau, D Kyle Quincey, G Keith Kinkaid, C Jacob Josefson, C Sergey Kalinin

Team Needs

1) Top-Pair Defenseman – As good as New Jersey’s forward core and forward prospect depth is shaping up to be and as solid as they are in net, this team will never be a contender without major changes on the blue line. The 22-year-old Severson has been a pleasant surprise this season and the always-reliable captain Greene is a mainstay, but beyond that the Devils are hopeless on defense. Severson has been great, but doesn’t project to be a star without help. Greene has slowed down and become injury-prone. Ben Lovejoy, John Moore, and Jonathon Merrill are serviceable players, but not top-four defensemen on many teams. Steven Santini is still developing and Helgeson appears to have stopped developing. The entire prospect system is void of any really promising defensive prospects. If a young, high-ceiling defenseman or an established All-Star caliber player hits the trade market this month and the Devils have the pieces to get such a player, don’t expect Shero to hesitate in pulling the trigger. One potential candidate: a sign-and-trade scenario with the St. Louis Blues to get Kevin Shattenkirk. 

2) More Defensemen – For all of the reasons above, if the Devils are offered defensive prospects for players like Parenteau, Quincey, Kincaid, or others, they should jump on them. The blue line needs reloading and it starts at the development stage. New Jersey may have a top-ten pick on the horizon that they can use on a defenseman, but it never hurts to add some depth where there is an obvious lack of talent.

3) Bottom-Six Forward – In a preview of this week’s “Expansion Issues“, the Devils are currently short on qualifying forwards to expose in the upcoming Expansion Draft. Without adding another player to the mix, they risk having to expose a veteran like Zajac or Cammalleri. Josefson or Beau Bennett would qualify for exposure if given an extension, but the Devils may want to trade (or protect) one or both. Adding a throwaway bottom-six forward who they can expose to the Vegas Knights and then likely send to the AHL next year is a likely move.

 

Coyotes May Be Exploring Northwest Relocation

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On the heels of the news that the Arizona Coyotes’ and Arizona State University’s joint venture to build a new arena facility in Tempe, Arizona had fallen through, new reports are emerging that the Coyotes have again started looking into a move to Portland, Oregon or Seattle, Washington. The Glendale Star first reported that members of the Coyotes brass had toured both Moda Center in Portland, home of the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers and the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, and KeyArena in Seattle, the former home of the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics and the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. Representatives from both facilities have confirmed the reports. Both cities have long been rumored to desire an NHL franchise, both due to their size and fan base as well as their embrace of WHL junior hockey. Trailblazers own Paul Allen has even gone so far as to say that he would like to have an ownership stake in an NHL team and move them to Portland, while billionaire Chris Hansen has long had interest in building a new stadium in Seattle and moving both an NHL and NBA team to a city that already has tons of avid supporters for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and MLB’s Seattle Mariners.

However, when the Glendale Star reached out to the Coyotes for confirmation, Executive Vice President of Communications Rich Nairn wholly denied the rumors. Coyotes president and CEO Anthony LeBlanc then went further denied the rumors during a podcast, calling the story “100 percent false” with “absolutely no facts”. Whether or not the reports of the tours are true and, despite LeBlanc’s strong-worded response, it seems likely that they are, no Coyotes executive is going to isolate the fan base by hinting at a relocation that is far from secured. The fans have their own role in this issue though, as the Coyotes have the 28th-ranked attendance in the NHL behind just the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders.

Arizona is not necessarily a bad location for the NHL. The establishment of NCAA hockey at Arizona State and, of course, the Auston Matthews story has lead to a substantial uptick in grassroots hockey in the state. There has been an overwhelming embrace of hockey overall in the southwest United States in recent years, and perhaps it is just taking its time in Arizona. As Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps pointed out in the Star article, the Phoenix metropolitan area is the 12th largest market in the U.S. Additionally, Maricopa County, which contains Phoenix, Glendale, Tempe, and Mesa, is the fourth most populous county in the country. As Phelps notes, by sheer numbers, a move out of Arizona to Portland or Seattle would appear to be a “step backward” for the league. However, how long can the NHL and the Coyotes ownership put up with an uncommitted fan base and a state that has been unwilling to work with them on a better arena situation? Portland and Seattle may not have the potential that the Phoenix area does, but they have shown to be passionate sports cities with an interest in hockey, ready to embrace an NHL team of their own. That may be enough to see the Coyotes move in the not-too-distant future.

Ondrej Pavelec Out With Injury

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After starting eight of the Winnipeg Jets’ nine games since he was called up from the AHL in mid-January, Ondrej Pavelec will take a seat once again. After leaving Tuesday night’s game against the Minnesota Wild, coach Paul Maurice confirmed today that Pavelec has suffered a lower body injury. The Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe reports that Pavelec is expected to be out “about a week”.

With Pavelec back out of the picture, the Jets will return to their young duo of Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson for the next week and beyond. When Pavelec was recalled on January, Winnipeg made the decision not to subject the 26-year-old Hutchinson to waivers and to instead carry three goalies. However, in the last month, Hutchinson has not made a single appearance, while Hellebuyck had just one start before relieving Pavelec on Tuesday. The pair have been less than stellar this season anyway; Hellebuyck has been the better of the two with 17 wins, a .909 SV%, and 2.78 GAA in 36 appearances, while Hutchinson has just four wins and a ghastly .894 SV% and 3.23 GAA in 20 appearances.

Despite getting nearly all the ice time in net since his resurrection from the minors, Pavelec has not been all that successful either. In fact, he’s actually been worse than Hellebuyck and Hutchinson. Pavelec currently has a 4-4 record with a horrid .888 SV% and 3.55 GAA. Granted, that is only through eight games, but the Jets may actually be better suited with Pavelec injured and out of the lineup. Winnipeg has just 54 points on the season through 56 contests, which puts them in fifth in the Central Division. While they sit just five points back of the Calgary Flames for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, they have played two or more games than all three teams chasing them for that berth: the Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars, and Vancouver Canucks. The playoffs seem like a long shot for the Jets, and going forward it is Hellebuyck that is the goalie of the future. Increased play time for the young keeper down the stretch rather than the ten-year veteran and impending free agent would be the logical move. Though Pavelec has dedicated his career to the Thrashers/Jets franchise, his preseason demotion and poor play at the NHL level in 2016-17 clearly signal that his time is over. Winnipeg would be better served long-term to give Hellebuyck the majority of starts for the remainder of the season.

Trade Candidate: Gabriel Landeskog

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With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that are likely to be dealt by March 1st.

The Colorado Avalanche are one of only two teams – Arizona being the other – that currently identify as certain deadline sellers and in the midst of a disappointing campaign it’s believed the team is willing to consider dealing anyone not named Nathan Mackinnon as they try to find the right blend. Colorado may consider moving winger Gabriel Landeskog and he represents the type of player you don’t often see come available. Landeskog is a four-time 20-goal scorer and at just 24, the Swedish winger is still comfortably within his prime. He also has four more seasons left of team control at a price that’s quite fair for a solid, two-way top-six winger. Sure, Landeskog isn’t having a particularly strong season but there would still likely be plenty of interest in acquiring his services if he was truly available.

Contract

As noted above, Landeskog has four years left on a deal that comes with an AAV of $5.57MM. His deal contains neither a NMC nor a NTC, putting the Avalanche in the driver’s seat in terms of trade talks.

2016-17

Landeskog has tallied just nine goals and 20 points in 40 games this season, a scoring rate well below his career average of 0.67 points-per-game. Part of that is likely a function of Colorado icing the league’s lowest scoring attack, averaging just 2.06 goals-per-game. He’s generating shots at a rate not much below that of his career norm and his conversion rate of 10% is right in line with his career average. His 95.5 PDO is indicative of bad puck luck and a regression could be in order.

Season Stats

40 GP, 9 G, 11 A, 20 Pts, -13 plus/minus rating, 44 PIM, 19:12 ATOI

Suitors

The Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins have both previously been rumored as potential landing spots for Landeskog. Both make a ton of sense as they tend to favor bigger forwards who can play a physical forechecking style. At 6-foot-1 and 215-pounds, Landeskog certainly brings good size. Colorado reportedly asked Boston for a package headlined by rookie blue liner Brandon Carlo but the Bruins balked at the asking price. The Kings will have nearly $7MM in deadline cap space meaning they can afford to add the winger without moving salary, however such a transaction would complicate their salary cap situation in seasons ahead. Anaheim, with their blue line depth would seem to make for a natural match for the Avalanche, and the Ducks also appreciate size and physicality in their forwards. Considering the term remaining on his deal, any team in the league could show interest in Landeskog should they be willing to meet Colorado’s understandably high asking price.

Likelihood Of A Trade

Blockbuster trades involving multiple pieces are complicated and are rarely able to be completed during the season. Prior to the 2012 trade deadline, the New York Rangers worked feverishly to acquire winger Rick Nash from Columbus and even though Nash’s market was severely limited due to his willingness to go to only a few teams, a deal wasn’t completed until after the season. The Rangers ultimately sacrificed a package of talent similar to what they offered at the deadline, but then Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson still held out, hoping the market would improve.

It’s likely the Landeskog negotiations will play out similarly. Considering their ask of a young, top-four blue liner, a prospect and a first-round pick, a deal of this nature is easier to make in the offseason when the salary cap plays less of a role in the proceedings.

Minor Transactions: 2/9/2017

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For the third consecutive day no players were placed on waivers, as Chris Johnston of Sportsnet noted this afternoon. However, that doesn’t mean teams aren’t busy calling players up from or sending players to the minor leagues. In this post we’ll track the day’s minor transactions and update as needed.

  • The Buffalo Sabres have announced (via Twitter) that they have recalled forwards Evan Rodrigues and Derek Grant from Rochester. Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald added that Zemgus Girgensons wasn’t on the ice for the team’s morning skate and while Evander Kane was, he didn’t take line rushes. The implication being both players might be unavailable tonight thus necessitating the call-ups. Rodrigues has appeared in two games this season, going scoreless while averaging 11:28 of ice time. Grant, who was recently reacquired via waivers from Nashville, has registered four points, all assists, in 41 games. He is still searching for his first NHL goal after seeing action in 81 games over parts of five seasons with Ottawa, Calgary, Buffalo and Nashville.
  • Winger Alex Tuch has been reassigned by the Minnesota Wild to their AHL affiliate in Iowa, the team announced this morning. Tuch, the club’s first-round pick, 18th overall, in the 2014 draft, has appeared in three games this season without netting a point. He’s registered 11 goals and 22 points in 34 AHL contests. Michael Russo of the Star Tribune tweeted that unless the team recalls another forward from the minor then it appears as if Charlie Coyle will move back to the wing with Erik Haula and Tyler Graovac assuming the third and fourth line center slots, respectively.
  • Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times brings word that the Tampa Bay Lightning have reassigned forwards Michael Bournival and Joel Vermin to Syracuse. Smith adds that this could be good news for Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn, as the reassignments leave the team with just 12 healthy forwards – Ryan Callahan is currently on IR. Palat has missed the last two games while Killorn didn’t play in Tampa’s 5 – 0 shutout win over the L.A. Kings.

Western Conference Snapshots: Russell, Davidson, Coyotes, Stars

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Like many teams, the Edmonton Oilers will face some difficult choices when choosing whom to protect in the expansion draft. The recent emergence of Brandon Davidson and the team’s reported desire to re-sign Kris Russell beyond the current campaign has created a surprising logjam on the blue line. Assuming the team elects to protect seven forwards and three defensemen, it’s a near certainty that the Oil will keep Adam Larsson, Oscar Klefbom and Andrej Sekera, which means the team will have to expose Davidson. But David Staples of the Edmonton Journal offers up a solution for Edmonton: protect four defenders, including Davidson, and make Jordan Eberle available to Vegas to select.

While acknowledging that Russell has been a solid, if unspectacular addition to the team’s defense corps and probably would be worth a modest extension, Staples argues that Davidson, four years the former’s junior, is a better long-term option due to his cost and similar on-ice performance. As a pending free agent, Russell won’t have to be protected from the expansion draft unless he inks an extension prior, but Davidson will or the club risks losing him for nothing. One way to make the numbers work would be to leave Eberle unprotected. Eberle, who has two more years on a deal with a $6MM annual cap charge, has underachieved this season, registering just 11 goals in 55 games. If Vegas took a chance on the gifted offensive winger, it would solve two problems for Edmonton: one, it allows the team to keep Davidson and two, the team would save a sizable chunk of cap space which can then be allocated to long-term extensions for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who will reach restriced free agency following the 2017-18 and 2016-17 seasons, respectively.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference:

  • The Arizona Coyotes are one of only a small handful of teams known to consider themselves sellers ahead of the trade deadline and they have several marketable assets that will draw interest in the coming weeks. Sarah McLellan of AZ Central lists the players she believes could be moved at the deadline. Martin Hanzal headlines the list as she notes his size and two-way acumen would appeal to practically any playoff contender. Right-shot defender Michael Stone, in the final year of his contract, could be an attractive piece since most teams are looking for blue line depth, particularly on the right side, at this time of year. McLellan includes Shane Doan but writes that it may be next to impossible to find the right fit; a serious Stanley Cup contender in need of a player of his ilk. Perhaps the most interesting name to make the cut was that of Anthony Duclair. The 21-year-old winger was considered a foundation building block coming into the season but with just nine points in 41 games earning him a demotion to the minors, it’s clear he has fallen out of favor in the desert.
  • Mike Heika recently fielded questions from readers in a mailbag feature on SportsDayDFW.com and offered insight into a wide array of Stars-related topics. The biggest concern readers seem to share is the club’s struggles in the goal-prevention department. Heika points out that goaltending is a huge problem, with the team’s netminders registering a Save % of 0.904 compared to the Washington Capitals league-leading rate of 0.928. The Stars have committed more than $10MM of cap space to Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen, a figure more than any other team has allocated toward their top two goalies. If the Stars want to salvage their season they may need to strongly consider an upgrade between the pipes and as we learned yesterday, the team has apparently shown interest in Marc-Andre Fleury already. While the Penguins are likely going to deal Fleury before the upcoming expansion draft, it’s unclear how much they would get in return.

Friedman’s Latest: Julien, Ducks, Bolts, Avalanche, Vrbata

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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet published his latest “30 Thoughts” column and like always it’s worth a read in its entirety. However, here’s a brief roundup of some of the column’s highlights.

  • Friedman reiterates what many others in the industry have said on Claude Julien, suggesting he “will be unemployed as long as he wants to be unemployed.” Julien of course joined Ken Hitchcock as former Stanley Cup winning head coaches now on the unemployment line this week when Boston decided to pull the plug after a nearly 10-year run behind the Bruins bench. Ultimately, while Julien’s tenure was mostly successful, Friedman argues that the relationship between the coach and ownership was never strong. While the Blues had already established a succession plan in anticipation of Hitchcock’s retirement at the end of the season, there are still three jobs potentially available to Julien – Vegas, New York Islanders and Florida. All three should be expected to show interest in hiring Julien to run their respective clubs. Additionally, with Julien available, it’s at least plausible other teams who may not be 100% sold on their current bench boss might reach out to the veteran head coach to gauge his interest in leading their program.
  • Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman, the GM’s of Colorado and Tampa Bay respectively, both attended a recent Anaheim game, leading the scribe to conclude they were there to scout some of the Ducks defenders. Anaheim is blessed with excellent blue line talent, both at the NHL and minor league levels, and it’s been suggested the team could flip a defender to add scoring help up front. Of course Colorado and Tampa Bay each need defensemen but as Friedman notes, the two GM’s may have different preferences. Friedman writes that the Avalanche are looking for young blue liners with term remaining on their contracts while the Lightning need a more established, top-four presence. Speculatively, Colorado may prefer either Brandon Montour or Shea Theodore, two rookies with loads of upside, while Cam Fowler could represent an ideal fit for the Lightning, assuming they can find a way to make the cap hit work. It’s not clear to Friedman who the Ducks might be interested in from either potential trade partner.
  • Good news for any team that might have designs on acquiring veteran winger Radim Vrbata from the Arizona Coyotes. Vrbata’s one-year deal with Arizona contains a $500K bonus if the winger reaches either 20 goals or 40 points. With 35 points in 51 games, Vrbata is closing in on that bonus. His deal also provides for up to $1.25MM based on his team’s playoff success. Friedman had originally reported that Arizona would not be able to retain any bonus money not already earned by the player, meaning any team looking to trade for him would be on the hook for a significant chunk of change potentially. With the salary cap likely to remain flat next season, any interested suitor for Vrbata might be unwilling to chance assuming the balance of his contract since any bonuses earned would apply to next season’s salary cap. However Friedman provides an update and based on his understanding, if, for example, the Coyotes agree to retain 50% of Vrbata’s contract, that would apply not only to his remaining salary but also to any unearned bonuses as well. This is welcome news for any team tight against the cap ceiling and looking for scoring help on the wing as Vrbata now remains an intriguing option.

 

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