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Snapshots: Lafreniere, Quenneville, Heiskanen

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While many teams are curious to see if their team might capture the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft headed by Jack Hughes, who is currently playing for the U.S. Development team in the USHL, others are preparing for the 2020 draft and TSN’s Craig Button released his top 20 for ’20 list, placing Rimouski Oceanic winger Alexis Lafreniere of the QMJHL way ahead of the pack.

Lafreniere tallied 42 goals last year in his rookie campaign in the QMJHL as a 16-year-old and already has posted 12 goals and 36 points in 21 games this year. Button adds that his impressive performances in the IIHF U18 World Championships and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup make him a solid selection as the top-rated player in the draft, followed by Sudbury Wolves center Quinton Byfield and Swedish winger Lucas Raymond.

  • Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston writes that Nick Kypreos reports that former Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville would like to return to work immediately, but is not willing to take on a large rebuilding process like the one that Mike Babcock undertook when he took over the Toronto Maple Leafs. On top of that, any team that wants to hire Quenneville between now and the end of next season would have to assume a considerable portion of the $6MM per season salary that the Chicago Blackhawks still owe him, making it a small group of teams that would likely be interested in his services. Johnston, however, wonders if Quenneville might be willing to change his mind about coaching the Detroit Red Wings if an opening comes about since he’s a native of Windsor, Ont.
  • With the recent loss of Dallas Stars’ top defenseman John Klingberg for four weeks, the team has placed their defensive hopes on rookie blueliner Miro Heiskanen, who suddenly is thrust into the role as the team’s No. 1 defenseman. That has been evident, which included a game-high 29:26 Saturday against the Nashville Predators. The Athletic’s Sean Shairo (subscription required) breaks down the film of the play of Heiskanen. Shapiro suggests that Heiskanen’s innate knack of stick angles and positioning is just one skill that few rookies have a keen grasp on as well as his ability to use his body well without being physical. That should bode well for a team that already has a high-quality No. 1 in Klingberg.

 

 

Atlantic Notes: Weber, Athanasiou, Pysyk, Kovar

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The Montreal Canadiens have had a nice start to the season with an 8-5-3 record to start the season. However, more good news could be on the way as there was a Shea Weber sighting today as the veteran defenseman took the ice this morning along with David Schlemko, Brendan Gallagher, Noah Juulsen and Carey Price, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie.

The team captain was originally scheduled to return sometime in December, so it still may be a while before he fully returns, but this is a step in the right direction for the veteran. Weber could add another key element to a young team that seems to have found some offense from a number of young names and gotten some solid goaltending from Price. Adding Weber to their blueline could only make the team stronger as they start hitting the middle of their season schedule.

  • The Detroit Red Wings like what they see from winger Andreas Athanasiou so far this year. What the 24-year-old has always lacked was competive consistency, which they are finally starting to see everyday, according to MLive’s Ansar Khan. Athanasiou has always had the speed that many people felt he could put up big numbers if he figured things out. However, the best the Red Wings have gotten out of him has been 18 goals, two years ago. Through 13 games so far this season, he already has six goals and nine points and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. “I know those chances are going to come, so it’s just playing hard when I get out there and capitalizing on those chances,” Athanasiou said.
  • George Richards of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Florida Panthers defenseman Mark Pysyk remains a healthy scratch for the seventh straight time despite being medically cleared to play again on Thursday, but can’t seem to work his way back into Florida’s lineup. He was knocked out of the lineup after taking a hit from Washington’s Alex Ovechkin on Oct. 19. The hope is he will be in the lineup on Sunday.
  • Jan Kovar was brought overseas with the intention of plugging him in the New York Islanders’ lineup. Two months later has the 28-year-old Kovar playing on a PTO with the Providence Bruins of the AHL, but faring quite well with five goals and nine points in eight games. Could a promotion be in order? “Smart player,” said Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney (via Providence Journal’s Mark Divver). “I really like the skills, top of the circles down in the offensive zone. What probably surprises me a little bit, coming from (the KHL), is how gritty he is, as far as playing in high traffic, possession.”
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that defenseman Anton Stralman and forward Adam Erne were out tonight and are listed as day-to-day, both with upper-body injuries. With the return of defenseman Victor Hedman, it looked as if the team’s defense was almost healthy. Instead, the team will be without Stralman for the time being, who was the one to fill many of Hedman’s minutes. Slater Koekkoek remains in the lineup.

 

Red Wings Hoping To Sign Jimmy Howard To A Multi-Year Extension

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The Red Wings are committed to signing goaltender Jimmy Howard to a multi-year extension, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan.  The veteran is in the final year of his contract which pays him $4.25MM with a cap hit of just under $5.3MM.

Howard has spent his entire career in the Detroit organization after they drafted him 64th overall back in 2003.  In recent years, he has gone from being the full-time starter to more of a platoon option which is part of the reason they handed Jonathan Bernier a three-year deal last summer.

This season, Howard has the highest goals against average of his career at 2.93 but given the significant number of injuries they’ve had on their back end, the Red Wings have understandably struggled defensively so far this season.  On the plus side, his .917 save percentage is his best since 2012-13.

Khan notes that a multi-year deal for Howard is likely.  That’s notable as he turns 35 in March which means that his next deal will carry the 35-plus provision.  While Detroit is clearly in a rebuilding phase, it doesn’t appear as if they’re willing to significantly take away from their roster and keeping Howard around should help them stay competitive during this stretch.  It’s also a realization that none of their goaltending prospects are ready to make the jump to the NHL level over the next couple of years.

The free agent market for goaltenders is fairly deep this year with Howard being joined by the likes of Sergei Bobrovsky, Mike Smith, Cam Talbot, and Semyon Varlamov.  That should play in Detroit’s favor as they can use the leverage of those other options to keep the AAV in check.  With Pekka Rinne signing for two years and $10MM over the weekend, that would seemingly represent the high mark for Howard, especially with an above-average backup in Bernier already in the fold.

The interest in getting a deal done appears to be mutual so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a deal get done sooner rather than later to keep the long-time Red Wing around for at least a couple more seasons.

Minor Transactions: 11/07/18

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After an interesting night in the NHL that saw the Ottawa Senators prove they can still compete among all the noise, and one of the newest St. Louis Blues forwards finally record a hat trick, there’s plenty to do on this Wednesday morning. With just three games scheduled for tonight, teams will be making adjustments to their lineups and preparing for the next few days. As always, we’ll be here to keep track of all those minor moves.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have returned forward Trevor Moore to the minor leagues, now that they’re off for a few days. Moore didn’t suit up for the Maple Leafs this time around, but should be considered the first call-up if the team experiences any more injuries up front. That said, with a road trip coming up next week he could be back up to fill the extra roster spot in just a few days.
  • Anthony Peluso has been recalled by the Calgary Flames after Dillon Dube was moved to injured reserve. Peluso took rushes with the team at practice as well, indicating that he’ll get into the lineup for the third time this season. Dube is dealing with a concussion, but his injured reserve stint is retroactive to November 3rd meaning he could come off whenever he is healthy.
  • Alex Lyon and Tyrell Goulbourne have been returned to the AHL by the Philadelphia Flyers, indicating that at least one of Brian Elliott or Michal Neuvirth will be able to suit up tomorrow night against the Arizona Coyotes. Calvin Pickard is the only fully healthy goaltender on the roster now, but sitting Lyon at the NHL level with little to do wasn’t an option.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have reassigned Jalen Chatfield to the Utica Comets of the AHL, ending his brief NHL taste before he actually played in a game. Chatfield, an undrafted free agent signing, has played seven games for the Comets this season but is still waiting to make his NHL debut.
  • After just a day, the Detroit Red Wings have returned Christoffer Ehn to the minor leagues. Ehn got just 6:53 in ice time last night for the Red Wings, but managed to record four hits and a shot on goal in his 10th game of the season. The young forward will likely be the first call-up again down the road for Detroit.
  • Kenny Agostino has been recalled by the Montreal Canadiens, giving the former AHL MVP another shot at the highest level. The minor league dynamo has another ten points in his first 12 games for the Laval Rocket this season, continuing his near point-per-game pace in the AHL through five seasons. Despite that success, he’s been given just 22 opportunities to suit up for an NHL game, something he’ll try to change with the Canadiens this season.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes have brought up two young players once again, recalling Phillip Di Giuseppe and Clark Bishop from the Charlotte Checkers. To make room, Nicolas Roy has been sent back down after six games with the Hurricanes. Carolina has been swapping players in and out of their bottom-six all season trying to find a fit, and will give Di Giuseppe and Bishop another chance to make an impression in the coming days.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have returned center Chase De Leo to San Diego of the AHL, just one day after recalling him.  The 23-year-old didn’t play in Tuesday’s loss against the Kings.  De Leo is off to a decent start in the minors with five points in eight games and will likely get another look with the big club later on this season.

Gustav Nyquist Comments On The Possibility Of Being Dealt

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With the Red Wings expected to be sellers between now and the trade deadline, winger Gustav Nyquist is likely to come up in trade speculation in the weeks to come.  Speaking with Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, the pending UFA acknowledged that the chatter involving him is likely to pick up compared to previous years:

Fortunately for both Nyquist and the Red Wings, the 29-year-old is off to a strong start to his season with a dozen points through the first 14 games which is the second-most on the team.  If he can maintain that level of play between now and the deadline, not only will that help his negotiating leverage for the summer as he looks to improve upon his current $4.75MM AAV but it would also help Detroit land another notable asset in their rebuilding process.

Injury Updates: Red Wings, Hendricks, Byron, Radulov

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The Red Wings’ battered back end is set to get a boost tonight as Danny DeKeyser is set to return after missing the last eight games due to a hand injury, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.  He gives Detroit another top-four defender that should be capable of logging more than 20 minutes a night to help take some pressure off of their young defensemen.  However, it’s not all good news for the Wings as DeKeyser will be taking the place of veteran rearguard Jonathan Ericsson who is dealing with an undisclosed injury of his own.  Tonight marks the 14th game of the season for Detroit and they have yet to have their entire defense corps healthy at the same time for any of them.

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • Wild forward Matt Hendricks has resumed practicing and has been cleared to play following a leg injury sustained back in mid-October, notes Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. However, he won’t suit up tonight in St. Louis.  The veteran has played in five games this season, logging just shy of ten minutes a night while winning just shy of 46% of his faceoffs.
  • The Canadiens will be without winger Paul Byron for at least the next three games, the team announced (Twitter link). He missed Montreal’s last game due to a lower-body injury and if the team wants to free up a roster spot to bring up a replacement, he can be played on IR retroactive to October 30th.
  • The Stars have sent winger Alexander Radulov home for treatment and he is expected to miss the remainder of their current road trip which has three games remaining, notes Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). The veteran missed four games before returning earlier this week against Montreal but was shut down again following that contest.  Radulov ranks sixth in the league in points per game (1.57) so far this season.

Snapshots: “Trade Bait”, Lindholm, Spezza

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The second month of the NHL season is underway and with it comes the first iteration of TSN’s “Trade Bait” board. To no surprise, unsigned Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander tops the list. With the countdown at 28 days until the December 1st deadline for Nylander to sign and play in the NHL this season, the impasse between the two sides is desperately in need of a resolution, and with each day that goes by, a trade looks more and more likely. TSN’s Frank Seravalli notes that it was the first week of November last year when No. 1-ranked trade bait player Matt Duchene was traded away, making it entirely possible that a Nylander trade or other big name move could drop in the next few days. Joining Nylander in the top six of the list are recent rumor mill highlights Kevin Hayes of the New York Rangers and Alec Martinez and Tanner Pearson of the Los Angeles Kings, as well as summer trade bait board holdout Mats Zuccarello, also of the Rangers, and perennial rumor monger Gustav Nyquist of the Detroit Red Wings. Both free agency-bound Columbus Blue Jackets superstars – Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin – feature in the top ten, as does a possible Nylander return piece Brett Pesce of the Carolina Hurricanes. A surprise addition is Winnipeg Jets defenseman Tyler Myers, who seems unlikely to move in the midst of what the Jets hope is a Stanley Cup-caliber season. So too is Wayne Simmonds, who the Philadelphia Flyers seemingly would like to re-sign and keep on as a leader and core contributor, but the Flyers’ success this season will likely determine his availability. The trade board is limited to just 15 names right now, but this initial list certainly features plenty of talent and some names that have already featured prominently in rumors. TSN may have perfect timing, as the NHL trade market seems ready to heat up.

  • One of the off-season’s biggest trades almost went differently, writes Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. Fox talked to new Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters recently, who stated that he expected a different package from a different team entirely in return for defenseman Dougie Hamilton, only to find that his former club, the Carolina Hurricanes, had offered the top package of Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin. Peters (obviously) says that he likes the way the deal turned out. While Hanifin is off to a slow start in Calgary, Lindholm has been an excellent fit next to Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau on the top line and currently sports a 24.3% shooting percentage to go with a team-leading nine goals and total of 14 points.
  • Fox also recently spoke with Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza, who this past week played in his 1,000th NHL game, about how he is approaching a contract year. Spezza was transparent with his answer:

“Not when you’re 35. You don’t care about the contract years… I just want to play the year, have a good year. I want to be back here next year. The money doesn’t matter. I just want to play and make sure I have a good role… It’s different when you’re at this point in my career. I just want to be on a team that has a chance to win. So, no, I can’t say that’s once played into my mind… That time has passed in my career. I’m just looking to play and be on a good team and have a good role and contribute… If you put the work into it, you get rewarded with big contracts. I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever played the game for the money.”

Spezza’s honesty is refreshing, but he also contradicts himself with a scenario that is likely to unfold as the season progresses. Spezza states that he wants to be back in Dallas next season, yet also wants a chance to finally win the Stanley Cup. Those two things may not coincide soon enough for the veteran center. The Stars currently share the 14th-best record in the NHL, but sit sixth out of seven in the powerhouse Central Division and have struggled to score goals early on this season. If Dallas cannot improve over the course of the season, Spezza will become an attractive trade rental candidate, especially since his eight points thus far indicate a bounce-back season compared to a disappointing 2017-18 campaign. Dallas may also be a few years away from really competing with the likes of Nashville and Winnipeg in the Central. A desire to win may make a continued career with the Stars less likely, but would make Spezza’s decision to waive his No-Movement Clause and choices in free agency much easier.

Thomas Vanek To Miss Two-To-Three Weeks

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The Red Wings will be without winger Thomas Vanek for two-to-three weeks due to a lower-body injury which is believed to be a knee issue, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.  The injury occurred early in the first period on Tuesday night against Columbus.  Detroit has filled his spot with Wade Megan but another recall may be needed depending on the availability of center Andreas Athanasiou for Thursday’s game versus New Jersey.  Vanek is off to somewhat of a quiet start this season with five points in a dozen games, well off the pace of his output from last season when he collected 56 points between Vancouver and Columbus.

Minor Transactions: 10/31/18

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It’s Halloween and the NHL has just a single game on tap, as the Chicago Blackhawks will take on the Vancouver Canucks this evening. As teams hand out tricks or treats to their fringe roster players, we’ll be right here to keep track of all the movement.

  • Ville Husso has been returned to the minor leagues by the St. Louis Blues, after Jake Allen rejoined the team at practice. Allen’s injury is apparently not as serious as originally feared, meaning Husso can go back to starting for the San Antonio Rampage for now. The 23-year old goaltender is still waiting for his first shot at the NHL, but has to clean up his game at the AHL level first.
  • Colby Cave, who was up on emergency conditions for the Boston Bruins, has been returned to the AHL. Cave, who played three games for the Bruins last season, is a hugely important forward for the AHL’s Providence Bruins, but was only brought up as insurance for some of the banged up NHL players. He’ll likely see some game action with Boston later on this season, but for now will return and try to extend his excellent start to the year.
  • The Minnesota Wild have reassigned Matt Read to the AHL, after seeing him play just five games in the NHL. The veteran forward will be used as an extra man this season and bounce up and down, clearing waivers when required.
  • Wade Megan has been recalled by the Detroit Red Wings, while Joe Hicketts is on his way back to the Grand Rapids Griffins. This is Megan’s first recall of the season after clearing waivers just before the end of training camp. The 28-year old forward has four points in eight games with the Griffins, and will be looking to play just his fifth career NHL game if he can get into the Detroit lineup.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have sent Austin Wagner and Sean Walker back to the Ontario Reign, partly as a cap-saving move. The Kings find themselves pressed right up against the cap ceiling given their current roster, and are trying to save space by sending players down on short term assignments. The team will likely recall a forward before tomorrow’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, though since they’re in a long homestand could use the proximity of Ontario to their advantage and remain at a roster of 21 for as long as possible.
  • The New York Islanders have recalled Christopher Gibson under emergency conditions as Robin Lehner is dealing with a minor injury. Sending Tom Kuhnhackl down to the minor leagues in his place could mean that Cal Clutterbuck is ready to return, but for now the focus is on the goaltending position and how long Lehner will be out. Coach Barry Trotz didn’t believe it was a serious injury, but with Lehner playing so well to start the season it’s tough to see him taken off the ice at all.
  • Aaron Ness has been recalled by the Washington Capitals, while Travis Boyd has been sent down on a long-term injury conditioning loan. With Brooks Orpik dealing with a minor injury, Ness will serve as insurance for any pregame injuries.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Haydn Fleury from Charlotte of the AHL.  The 22-year-old played in four games with the Checkers while on loan from Carolina and while he may once again be the odd man out on their back end to start, he’ll at least be in better game shape when called upon.

Frans Nielsen Expected To Miss At Least The Next Two Games

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  • The Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that they will be without center Frans Nielsen for at least the next two games due to an undisclosed injury. The veteran got off to a quiet start to his season but has been more productive as of late with four assists in the last four games.  Detroit may also be without center Andreas Athanasiou tomorrow night as he is listed as doubtful with an undisclosed injury.  The 24-year-old is tied for the team lead in goals with four through the first eleven games.

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