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Snapshots: Spezza, Brind’Amour, Komets

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have plenty to talk about following their qualification round exit at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets, including some pending free agent decisions. One of those scheduled for unrestricted free agency is veteran forward Jason Spezza, who came to his hometown of Toronto on a minimum contract to try and chase a Stanley Cup.

Today, when speaking to reporters including Luke Fox of Sportsnet about his future, Spezza explained that “the fire still burns” and that he hopes to be back in Toronto next season. For being a part-time player at the beginning of the season and seeing fourth-line minutes throughout, Spezza was pretty impressive with nine goals and 25 points in 58 games. He even got in a fight during the postseason, trying anything he could think of to wake up the Maple Leafs.

  • Rod Brind’Amour didn’t like a call in the Carolina Hurricanes-Boston Bruins game earlier today and voiced his displeasure to several reporters including Sara Civian of The Athletic. Brind’Amour got a quick fine from the league for his comments, earning a $25,000 penalty. He also received a conditional fine of $25,000 which will be collected if Brind’Amour has any other “inappropriate behavior” in the next year.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have signed a new two-year affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets, who have been partnered with the organization for the last two years. Fort Wayne was coached this season by Ben Boudreau, son of long time NHL head coach Bruce Boudreau. They went 31-23-6, but weren’t able to take part in the playoffs thanks to the COVID-19 cancelation.

Boston Bruins-Carolina Hurricanes Game One Postponed

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The Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets were locked in a duel for the ages on Tuesday night, playing into a fifth overtime in a game that began at 3:00pm ET – the fourth-longest game of all time. As a result of this historic game and the unprecedented circumstances of the bubble postseason, Game One of the Boston Bruins-Carolina Hurricanes series that was supposed to begin at 8:00pm ET has now been postponed. The league has announced that the two teams will square off at 11:00am ET on Wednesday, which should allow for the Washington Capitals-New York Islanders game to proceed as scheduled at 3:00pm ET.

With Game Two of the Bruins-Hurricanes still scheduled for Thursday night, the teams will open their first round series with back-to-back games. As with every series this year, there is already a back-to-back scheduled, for Games Five and Six on Wednesday and Thursday of next week. As a result, Boston and Carolina could end up playing six games in nine days in this series. Backup goaltenders Jaroslav Halak and James Reimer could very well see a start or two in this series.

Additionally, the Hurricanes long wait has been extended even further. Carolina was the only team to sweep their qualifying round series, knocking out the New York Rangers last Tuesday, August 4. The team had already waited a week, but now will have gone eight days between action. The Bruins meanwhile played their final round robin game on Sunday.

Metropolitan Notes: Werenski, Murray, Carlson, Kuznetsov, Hamilton

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The Columbus Blue Jackets suffered a tough loss Friday when they blew a three-goal lead to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the final four minutes of the game only to see themselves fall in overtime, giving Toronto a chance to force a Game 5. Many point to the defensive injuries to Zach Werenski, who missed the final nine minutes of the game, as well as the missing Ryan Murray. However, Blue Jackets’ head coach John Tortorella announced today that both Werenski and Murray are expected to play in today’s matchup, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton.

The 23-year-old Werenski was expected to be a major loss to the team, trying to stave off the offensive power of Toronto. He suffered an upper-body injury during the third period and underwent and MRI Saturday. That test must have come back positive as the blueliner is expected to return to the ice. He has averaged 26:42 of ice time for Columbus and should provide a major obstacle for Toronto. Murray was scratched for Game 4, but is also expected to return to the ice. Goaltender Jonas Korpisalo is expected to start in net.

  • The Washington Capitals were without John Carlson when the team took the ice Sunday against the Boston Bruins. The team’s top defenseman has yet to make an appearance in any of the team’s round-robin games with an undisclosed injury, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.  There is no word on whether he will be available for Game 1 of the team’s first-round matchup. Carlson was a dominating force, posting 75 points in 69 games during the regular season and is a key piece to the team’s long-term success in the playoffs. Head coach Todd Reirden also noted that forward Evgeny Kuznetsov has returned to his usual place in the lineup after being benched in the third period, according to The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir. The center only played in three shifts in the third period due to his inconsistent play.
  • NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reported that Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said that it’s too early to tell whether defenseman Dougie Hamilton will be ready to go for Game 1 of the playoffs this week due to an undisclosed injury. However, Brind’Amour did say that if Hamilton is ready to go, he will play. Unfortunately, the coach did say that defenseman Brett Pesce, out with a shoulder injury, is not expected to play in this next series.

Draft Pick Fall Out From Qualifying Round Results

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It was a dark day in the NHL on Friday as five teams were eliminated from playoff contention and, barring a miraculous last-minute comeback by the Toronto Maple Leafs, it could have been six-for-six. While the focus on these pivotal games yesterday was on those teams advancing and those team going home, there were also numerous draft picks impacted:

  • In addition to yesterday’s winners, it was also a big day for the New Jersey Devils. In a year in which the draft class is lauded for its depth, particularly in impact forwards, the Devils are now the proud owners of three first-round picks. New Jersey acquired Arizona’s first-rounder in the Taylor Hall trade and Vancouver’s first-rounder from Tampa Bay in the Blake Coleman However, both picks were lottery protected. Now that the Coyotes and Canucks have advanced, they will not take part in Monday’s second draft lottery to determine the No. 1 pick and as a result their picks have officially been sent to the Devils.
  • The Ottawa Senators will also have three picks in the first round of the 2020 Draft. Already owners of their own pick and San Jose’s, the Senators officially acquired the New York Islanders’ pick yesterday. The Isles had sent a lottery-protected first-rounder to Ottawa in the Jean-Gabriel Pageau trade, but with New York moving one they will not be in the running for a lottery pick. There is also a conditional 2020 second-round pick involved in that deal which will transfer to the Senators if the Islanders win the Stanley Cup. That dream for now remains alive for New York.
  • The clock is ticking on the Pittsburgh Penguins. The first-round pick that the team sent to the Minnesota Wild in the Jason Zucker trade contained a condition that the Penguins could keep the pick if it landed in the top 15. Now that the team has been surprisingly knocked out of the postseason, their first-rounder will fall in that range. They now have seven days to decided whether or not to retain the pick and send their 2021 first-round pick instead or to simply trade their 2020 selection. Obviously, the team will wait for the results of Monday night’s lottery, but regardless it seems likely that the Penguins will keep the pick and bet on themselves to make the playoffs next season.
  • One first-round pick that still remains undecided is the pick that will transfer to the New York Rangers as part of the Brady Skjei When the Carolina Hurricanes acquired Skjei, they promised the Rangers the later of their two first-rounders, their own and the Toronto Maple Leafs’, acquired alongside Patrick Marleau. However, the Toronto pick has conditions of its own; if the Leafs pick lands in the top 10, they will retain the selection and transfer their 2021 first-rounder instead. The only way for this to occur would be for Toronto to both lose Game Five against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday and then win the No. 1 overall pick in Monday’s draft lottery. If the Maple Leafs lose both the game and the lottery, their pick will be No. 13 and by default will be earlier than Carolina’s, meaning the Hurricanes’ own pick will go to the Rangers. Should Toronto win on Sunday, it will remain to be seen how far each team goes in the playoffs and which pick will head to New York.

Dougie Hamilton Resumes Skating With The Team

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  • Carolina defenseman Dougie Hamilton participated in practice today for the first time since being injured in practice two weeks ago, notes Michael Smith on the Hurricanes’ team website. He has been dealing with an undisclosed injury but the fact he was able to get on the ice today is a good sign that he may be able to return when their next series begins early next week.  Considering he logged over 23 minutes a game and had 40 points in just 47 contests before breaking his fibula in mid-January, his return would be a huge addition to their back end.

Snapshots: Vatanen, Fines, Raffl

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Sami Vatanen is in the Carolina Hurricanes lineup again this afternoon, meaning the New Jersey Devils are winners today. Since Vatanen has played in two games, the Devils will receive at least a fourth-round pick from the Hurricanes to complete the trade. That pick could still be upgraded to a 2020 third-round selection, but the Devils at least know they’re getting something.

The Hurricanes are likely just happy that Vatanen is healthy and contributing, given the fact that he didn’t play a single game for the team before the shutdown. The 29-year old defenseman is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, using these playoffs as a nice portfolio piece for upcoming negotiations.

  • Not only did Vancouver Canucks forward Micheal Ferland escape suspension for his spearing incident last night, but he also won’t even be the only person receiving a fine. The Department of Player Safety has decided to fine Ferland $5,000 for the incident, along with giving Minnesota Wild forward Luke Kunin a $1,000 ticket. Ferland seems to always be in the middle of physical altercations, playing his role well for the Canucks.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers will be without an important piece of their lineup, as head coach Alain Vigneault told reporters including Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer that Michael Raffl will be out for “a while.” The team will insert young forward Joel Farabee in Raffl’s spot, giving him a chance to show exactly why they took him 14th overall in 2018.

Injury Notes: Scheifele, Schmaltz, Fast, Hamilton

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The Winnipeg Jets may have lost their top center and top sniper in the same game, as both Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine left last night’s test against the Calgary Flames with an injury. Scheifele’s in particular looked serious, as he collided with Matthew Tkachuk and fell to the ground bellowing in pain. The hit got quite the response from head coach Paul Maurice, who indicated today that both players were still undergoing examination, and updates would be issued later in the day.

If the Jets do lose Schiefele for the rest of the qualification round they’ll have to figure out an answer on the top line and find a way to dig themselves out of the early hole after losing to Calgary last night. Here’s more info about injuries around the league:

  • Nick Schmaltz will not play in game one for the Arizona Coyotes after taking a high hit from Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves in the exhibition match. Schmaltz, the Coyotes leading scorer from the regular season, played in four playoffs games with Chicago in 2017 but hasn’t seen the postseason since. Youngster Barret Hayton will be making his own playoff debut after suiting up just 20 times this season.
  • The New York Rangers are still not sure of Igor Shesterkin’s availability for game two according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com, but will not have Jesper Fast in the lineup. Fast was hit hard by former teammate Brady Skjei and was forced from yesterday’s game after just a minute of ice time. The depth winger is a key part of the Rangers leadership group and recorded 29 points in 69 games this season.
  • Dougie Hamilton is getting better according to head coach Rod Brind’Amour, but won’t be in the lineup for Carolina tomorrow. The Hurricanes did just fine without their top offensive defenseman, but relied heavily on their top two pairings—Jake Gardiner played just 11:55 while Jaccob Slavin logged 24:40.

NHL Makes Rulings On Three Trades With Conditional Picks

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For fans of the Flames and Oilers that have been awaiting the final decision on the James Neal–Milan Lucic trade, the verdict is in.  Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that Edmonton will have to transfer a third-round pick in either 2020 or 2021 to Calgary to complete the trade.  The Oilers will have until the start of the third round in October’s draft to choose whether they will transfer the selection this year or wait until the next draft.

The issue in this trade was in the wording of the rather unique conditions that were put on the deal.  In the original swap, Neal had to have at least 21 goals and Lucic ten or fewer.  Neal was at 19 when the season was shut down due to COVID-19 while Lucic was at eight so only the second element was met.  However, by extrapolating Neal’s output over a full 82-game season, he scored at a 23-goal pace.  It appears the league used a similar interpretation with the awarding of the draft pick.

It’s worth noting that Edmonton is currently without their second-round pick for the next two years from their acquisition of Andreas Athanasiou.  They also are without their fourth-rounder in 2020 from the Mike Green pickup.

The NHL has also tweaked the terms of the Kings-Maple Leafs trade that saw Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford go to Toronto.  Johnston notes in a separate tweet that Toronto will owe a 2021 second-round pick if they win their Qualifying Round series against Columbus and Campbell gets two or more wins or if Clifford re-signs.  The original terms of the deal had the pick transferring if the Maple Leafs made the playoffs and Campbell winning six games or Clifford re-signing.  If those don’t happen, then a 2021 third-round pick will be transferred to Los Angeles.

A decision has also been made on the conditional pick involved in the Hurricanes’ acquisition of Sami Vatanen from the Devils at the trade deadline and as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in a Twitter thread, the details are a bit more complex.

If Carolina beats New York in the Qualifying Round series and Vatanen plays in 70% or more of their playoff games, the Hurricanes send New Jersey their 2020 third-round pick.  If Vatanen doesn’t play in 70% or more of the playoff games but plays in two or more contests against the Rangers, then two more scenarios present themselves.  In that situation, if Carolina wins the series, the Devils get Carolina’s 2020 fourth-rounder.  If he plays at least twice but the Rangers win, then Carolina gets to pick between sending a 2020 or a 2021 fourth-round selection.  If none of this plays out, then no pick transfers.

This closes the books on the remaining questions surrounding conditional trades with the league ruling back in May on ones that had picks contingent on making the playoffs.  Teams will have to be in the final 16 teams in order to be classified as a playoff team for the purpose of those trades.

Jack Drury Leaving Harvard, Signs In Sweden

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Like Morgan Barron earlier today, who is leaving Cornell to sign with the New York Rangers and start his professional career, other NCAA players will have to find different ways to continue their hockey careers after several schools canceled the upcoming season. One of those players is Carolina Hurricanes draft pick Jack Drury—son of Ted Drury and nephew of Chris Drury—who is off to Sweden to play with the Vaxjo Lakers of the SHL for 2020-21.

The 20-year old Drury was the 42nd overall pick in 2018 and had an outstanding (albeit shortened) season this year for Harvard, scoring 39 points in 28 games. He also participated in the World Juniors for the second year in a row, representing the United States and scoring two points in five games. The young center has impressive offensive upside, plus the same responsible two-way play that his uncle was known for (Chris received Selke Trophy votes on five occasions).

Heading to Sweden will give Drury a chance to continue playing and is going to be an interesting option for many prospects affected by the current hockey climate. It could potentially mean a flood of college-aged players signing professional contracts, or perhaps deciding to return to the CHL should that league get underway on schedule. For many, professional hockey in Sweden might be too difficult, the opportunities too few. But in Drury’s case, he was likely ready for a bigger challenge after having his way with the NCAA on so many nights this season.

For Carolina, they’ll retain his draft rights for now and do not need to sign him to an entry-level contract immediately. Seeing how he does against professionals may actually give them a better idea of his readiness when the 2021-22 season comes around.

Jesper Sellgren Loaned To SHL

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When the Carolina Hurricanes signed Jesper Sellgren to a three-year entry-level contract in 2019, they likely expected him to be an important contributor for the Charlotte Checkers. After all, the young defenseman had just debuted for the Checkers in the Calder Cup playoffs and would help them secure a league championship soon after.

Unfortunately, Sellgren hasn’t played a single game for the organization since that 2019 AHL playoff run. Last season he was loaned back to the SHL where he recorded 21 points in 47 games. That was likely a decision made to get him more playing time and opportunity since the Checkers already had names like Jake Bean eating up ice time in the minor leagues. Today, Sellgren has been loaned to the SHL once again, this time to Frolunda, for the 2020-21 season (with the release from Sweden indicating it will be for the entire season).

That means two of his three contracted years will already be gone before Sellgren gets back into the Carolina organization. The deal is scheduled to expire in 2022, at which point he will become a restricted free agent. The sixth-round pick from 2018 is quite an interesting prospect, but it’s hard to know exactly how his future in North America will play out without more experience on this side of the pond.

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