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Jack Campbell Out Four To Six Weeks, Cal Petersen Recalled

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The Los Angeles Kings just can’t catch a break. As they continue to deal with the absence of Jonathan Quick, they now have another goaltender hitting the shelf with a long-term injury. Jack Campbell has suffered a torn meniscus that requires surgery and will be out four to six weeks. In his place, rookie netminder Cal Petersen has been recalled while Matt Luff has been sent back to the Ontario Reign.

The fact that Campbell and Quick both suffered injuries to their meniscus is laughable, at least given the struggles of the Kings this season without a reliable presence in net. The team now turns to a duo of Petersen and Peter Budaj, who were supposed to be the AHL tandem this season. The younger Petersen is a top goaltending prospect in the league, but has just a single season of professional experience after leaving college early and signing with Los Angeles. That happened in the summer of 2017 after he snubbed the Buffalo Sabres, the team who drafted him 129th overall in 2013.

Petersen isn’t the biggest netminder in the league, but has an uncanny ability to read the play and react quickly to pucks in tight. He rode those skills to an outstanding college career at Notre Dame and ended up posting a .910 save percentage and 23-14-2 record in his first season in the AHL. That was good enough to get him named to the AHL All-Star game, though the Reign were not able to get past the first round of the playoffs. This season hasn’t been as kind to Petersen, but there is still plenty of ability to get excited about as a Kings fan.

Unfortunately, even an outstanding debut for Petersen may not be enough to turn around the season for Los Angeles, who sit dead last in the NHL with just 11 points on the season. That’s thanks to a 5-10-1 record and league-worst 33 goals scored on the year. Even with the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk the Kings just haven’t been able to score enough, something that will need to be addressed before they can really compete for the playoffs once again.

Minor Transactions: 11/11/18

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With a busy 11-game schedule Saturday, the NHL remains busy on Sunday with another six games. With all that action, teams are going to make moves to re-stock their roster. Check out our updated transactions throughout the day:

  • The Boston Bruins announced they have recalled defenseman Jeremy Lauzon from the Providence Bruins of the AHL on an emergency basis. The 21-year-old has already appeared in four games for Boston as well as another eight for Providence. In fact, if Lauzon gets called upon to play today, he’ll be playing in his third straight game in consecutive days. He was recalled as defenseman Brandon Carlo is listed as questionable after suffering an upper-body injury late in the game Saturday. Lauzon will play for Carlo, if he can’t go.
  • The Dallas Stars announced they have assigned forward Denis Gurianov and defenseman Dillon Heatherington to the Texas Stars of the AHL. Gurianov has been a solid addition to the team, posting his first NHL goal Saturday in their 5-4 overtime loss to Nashville. He has been thriving in Texas, putting up six goals and 12 points 11 games there. Heatherington has appeared in five games for Dallas, posting one assist. He’s played in 10 games for Texas this season, accumulating four points. While there are no corresponding moves, it’s likely that the Stars hope that one of their injured forwards could return as both Alexander Radulov and Brett Ritchie both were practicing today, suggesting one, if not both, could be back soon. Heatherington’s demotion suggests the team was more impressed by defenseman Ben Gleason, who played well for Dallas Saturday.
  • The Minnesota Wild announced they have assigned forward Matt Read to the Iowa Wild of the AHL. The 32-year-old Read played five games for Minnesota and had six shots on goal, but failed to tally a point in that time. In Iowa, he has two points in seven games. With Matt Hendricks feeling better and able to fill in when needed, Read became expendable.
  • It looks like there may not be a “super line” in Bakersfield after all as center Cooper Marody, who many expected would center the elite line of Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto, has been recalled by the Edmonton Oilers Sunday. Marody will be making his second appearance with the team this year as he played two games with the Oilers earlier, but failed to score. He has three goals and 10 points in seven Bakersfield games this year.
  • CapFriendly reports that the Los Angeles Kings have assigned forward Matt Luff to the Ontario Reign of the AHL. The 21-year-old failed to score in three games and will return to Ontario where he compiled six goals and 12 points in just eight games.

Pacific Notes: Oilers Defense, Hertl, Desjardins

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The Edmonton Oilers haven’t had much success when it comes to trades in recent years, but the team may be able to plug some of their offensive woes with a trade. The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell (subscription required) writes that the Oilers are actually overloaded in left-handed defensive depth throughout their system and might be able to use that depth as a way to send off for some veteran help at the wing that might allow the team to give extra development time to Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto, who both were sent down to Bakersfield this afternoon.

Mitchell writes the team is loaded on the left side with two top-four players, including Oscar Klefbom and Darnell Nurse and still have Kris Russell who is playing on the right side. After that, the team has Ethan Bear as well as a host of left-handed defensemen in Bakersfield, including Caleb Jones, Ryan Stanton, William Lagesson, Keegan Lowe and Kevin Gravel. That’s a lot of options for a team, should they consider moving someone like Russell, Lagesson or Jones to add some depth at some point this winter.

  • Curtis Palshenka of the Mercury News reports that San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl, who has missed the last three game with a head injury, is starting to feel better and may be able to return Sunday for their game against the Calgary Flames. He still needs to go through more testing, but remains positive. Hertl has been a key piece to the Sharks’ first line, including Logan Couture and Timo Meier. The 24-year-old is producing a point a game so far this year with five goals and nine assists in 14 games.
  • One change the new Los Angeles Kings head coach Willie Desjardins intends to implement is to cut down shift times. Helene Elliot of the Los Angeles Times writes that the coach intends to cut all shifts by 10 seconds, so that lines are only on the ice for a little over 40 seconds. “If you look at teams’ regular-season shifts and then look at their playoff shifts, their playoff shifts are always shorter,” he said, “and that’s because the intensity of the game goes up. And I think we have to bring our playoff game right now. I think we have to get our shifts shorter and I think that’s something our guys have to buy into, to be successful.” Desjardins also adds that he wants to cut down the ATOI of both Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, who both lead the team in ice time at their respective positions.

 

Trade Rumors: Bruins, Kings, Hurricanes

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After another humiliating loss last night, an 8-5 drubbing at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks, the pressure on the Boston Bruins has been ratcheted up even higher. The team is falling short of expectations so far this season due to a total lack of secondary scoring. While speaking on the topic, Sportsnet’s John Shannon reports that the team feels they have too many of the same style of player among their secondary scorer. Shannon is likely referring to young forwards Danton Heinen and Anders Bjork, who have both underwhelmed in middle-six roles, and potentially AHL options Trent Frederic and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, as well as the possible similarities between veterans Joakim Nordstrom, Chris Wagner, Sean Kuraly, and Noel Acciari. Shannon states that the team is not happy and that a trade centered around one of their redundant forwards in exchange for an established young forward is likely coming soon.

  • Shannon also states that the Los Angeles Kings are not done making moves after firing head coach John Stevens. However, Shannon reports that the team is waiting to pull the trigger until their trade candidates can repair their market values. With the team struggling so severely to begin the campaign, the Kings would be trading the majority of their players while their stock is at its lowest. This is particularly true for the likes of struggling Tanner Pearson and ineffective Kyle Clifford. Once L.A. can string together some strong outings and potentially see some improvement from Pearson, Clifford and other names out there like Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin, and Tyler Toffoli, they should become active players on the trade market.
  • During the latest “Insider Trading” segment on TSN, Pierre LeBrun confirms that the Carolina Hurricanes are interested in more than just William Nylander. LeBrun says that the Hurricanes are worried about their scoring abilities and want to add a top-six scorer. Nylander is surely Carolina’s favored target, but they are looking elsewhere for help as well. The Hurricanes were recently rumored to be shopping young forward Valentin Zykov and, like the Bruins, may be looking to use his upside  to swap for a more established young forward.

Trade Rumors: Pearson, Zykov, Leddy

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When a name keeps popping up in trade rumors, it’s usually not for nothing. In the latest “31 Thoughts”, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman becomes another hockey insider to tab Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Pearson as a likely trade victim this season. Despite the sweeping changes already made by GM Rob Blake in regards to his coaching staff, he is certainly going to tweak his roster as well. Friedman notes that after a 24-goal campaign in 2016-17, Pearson notched just 15 last year and has yet to find the back of the net this year. In fact, Pearson has just one lone assist on the year, not to mention a slowed pace on shots and hits, a drop-off in ice time, and the worst plus/minus of his career. Pearson is sorely in need of a change of scenery and even though the Kings would be selling the 26-year-old winger at his lowest value, it would not be a shock to see a move come sooner rather than later. The team will land a nice return regardless; Pearson is still capable of being an effective two-way middle-six forward for many teams.

  • The only player whose name has been more talked about on the rumor mill than Pearson’s is disgruntled – and unsigned – Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander. The one team constantly connected to Nylander has been the Carolina Hurricanes, who would likely be dealing away one of their many talented defenseman as part of a hypothetical package. However, Friedman notes that another player the ’Canes are likely willing to move, to Toronto or otherwise, is young forward Valentin Zykov. Zykov, 23, has been struggling to find a full-time role with Carolina for years. His twelve NHL games this season is already a career-high, but he played just 4:41 last game and has only three points on the year. Zykov simply doesn’t look like a long-term fit for the Hurricanes and Friedman indicates that he could be on the move as a result.
  • One potential trade target who has flown under the radar is New York Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy. Last month, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta noted that Leddy’s name began popping up in conversations as early as last year and again over the summer. Pagnotta said a deal wasn’t imminent, but that it remained a possibility. The remarks were prompted by Leddy’s poor start to the season; the offensive defenseman began the campaign with nine scoreless games. After a brief outburst of three points in two nights, Leddy is again on a scoreless streak of three games after the Islanders’ loss last night. Leddy was one of the worst plus/minus players in the NHL last season at -42 and that was with 42 points to his credit. If his offense has dried up in New York and the Isles are having to win in spite of him, he could be traded away for a nice haul in no time. Leddy would be a prime candidate to bounce back on a team where he is not relied upon as much for minutes and defense.

Pacific Notes: Tanev, Oates, Tippett

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The Vancouver Canucks have exceeded expectations so far this season and are about to get even better. With 18 points in 15 games, the Canucks hold the second spot in the Pacific Division right now and are riding a three-game win streak. Yet, they have been without stalwart defenseman Chris Tanev for the past five games and have had to find ways to earn points without his assistance. That ends tonight, as CapFriendly reports that Tanev has been activated from the injured reserve and should be active against the Detroit Red Wings this evening. With Alexander Edler still sidelined, Tanev should step right back into Vancouver’s ice time leader role and will try to improve upon his three total points so far in the campaign. Tanev’s return should be a major boost for the Canucks, who despite their relative success, are still among the bottom third of the league in points against and could use some more stability on the back end, the hallmark of Tanev’s game. To make room for Tanev, CapFriendly additionally notes that young Jalen Chatfield has been returned to the AHL’s Utica Comets. Chatfield, 22, is in his second pro season out of the OHL, but has yet to make his NHL debut.

  • Following the firing of John Stevens, hiring of Willie Desjardins, and other re-shuffling of the coaching staff, the Los Angeles Kings continue to make small changes to their operations. Today, GM Rob Blake came to terms on a consulting agreement with Hall of Fame player and former coach Adam Oates, the team announced. Oates, and his Oates Sports Group, currently provide skill evaluation and development services to individual players around the league and beyond. It will be business as usual for the company and their player clients, but now special services will be offered to the Kings. Los Angeles has dealt with speed and finesse issues for years now and this move signifies that they are willing to do whatever it takes to find the solution to those problems. They hope that Oates, who recorded 1420 points over his 19-year NHL career, can lend a major hand in the pursuit of a revamped offense under Desjardins.
  • In his latest 31 Thoughts article, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes that Dave Tippett has been a hotly rumored name on the NHL coaching market for a while now, with Friedman sounding somewhat surprised that he was not named as the replacement in L.A. or Chicago. When last we heard from the former Dallas Stars and Arizona Coyotes head coach, he had taken an advisory role with the potential Seattle expansion team. When Friedman reached out to Tippett recently for comment on the job market, he confirmed that he was happy with his current role and staying in Seattle. If Tippett really has been approached with coaching offers and has declined in favor of the status quo, that says a lot about his anticipated job with the Seattle expansion team. Tippett seems confident with his current allegiances, indicating that he is likely in line to be the franchise’s first head coach or perhaps even general manager.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Vilardi, Matthews

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The NHL has announced their Three Stars for the latest week of the regular season, giving the Calgary Flames something to finally celebrate. Though the Flames are still giving up goals at an unfortunate pace, their offense has exploded and has them in first place in the Pacific Division. That’s in big part due to Sean Monahan’s eight-point week which has earned him first star honors. The young center now has 18 points in his first 15 games this season and is on pace to shatter his previous career-high of 64 points, set last year. With 146 goals already in his young career—Monahan turned 24 just a few weeks ago—he’s on track to be one of the best scorers to ever wear a Flames uniform. Jarome Iginla is clearly the leader with 525 regular season goals for Calgary, but Monahan already ranks 17th and could jump into the top-12 by season’s end.

Young stars was the theme of this week’s awards, as super rookie Elias Pettersson and underrated center Brayden Point took home second and third star. Pettersson is one of the most exciting players in the NHL right now, while Point continues to develop into the next great two-way center even in the shadows of other Tampa Bay stars like Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning have a huge contract negotiation coming with Point at the end of this year, when he enters restricted free agency for the first time. If his point output continues at its current pace—he’s on track for just under 100—they’ll be hard pressed to find room for him among all their other talented and well paid forwards without making a corresponding move.

  • Though Los Angeles Kings fans may have felt a chill run through their body upon reading Bob McKenzie of TSN’s report that Gabe Vilardi suffered a setback in an off-ice training session, Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider was told that it’s nothing to really worry about. Viladri has a tight hip flexor, but should be back on the ice in a few days. That’s great news for a player who can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to injury, and has played just 48 OHL games since being selected 11th overall in 2017. The 19-year old forward is a dominant puck possessing force when healthy, but needs to get back on the ice full-time before he can really prove he’ll be a part of the turnaround in Los Angeles.
  • Speaking of getting back on the ice, Auston Matthews skated today in Toronto with a team of coaches including Haley Wickenheiser as he works his way back from his latest shoulder injury. The Maple Leafs indicated that it would be a minimum of four weeks from October 29th before Matthews would be ready for game action, meaning he’s still several weeks away from the lineup. Still, with the Maple Leafs coming off a dominating 5-0 win on Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, seeing their best player on the ice shooting pucks already has to be another morale boost as they try to keep pace with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division.

Jaret Anderson-Dolan To Undergo Surgery

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When the Los Angeles Kings recently decided that Jaret Anderson-Dolan would be better served by returning to the CHL to continue his development, they didn’t know he’d be back so soon. Bob McKenzie of TSN is reporting that Anderson-Dolan is back in Los Angeles today and is expected to undergo surgery for a broken wrist. McKenzie puts the recovery timeline at six to eight weeks, and mentions how it could “negatively impact” Anderson-Dolan’s availability for the World Junior Championship.

The 19-year old forward surprised many by earning a spot with the team out of training camp, but ended up playing just five games in the NHL before being sent back to the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL. After a 40-goal, 91-point season in 2017-18 with the Chiefs, Anderson-Dolan had a chance to really put together an incredible season and dominate the WHL leaderboards this year. That doesn’t look like it will happen anymore, as he’ll miss a huge chunk of the season to injury and perhaps a chance to compete for the Canadian squad. His recovery will be watched closely by the Team Canada front office, but given the other options at forward—especially if players like Gabe Vilardi, Robert Thomas, Max Comtois or Michael Rasmussen are sent back to junior—there might not be room for him by the time Anderson-Dolan is back on the ice.

It’s valuable development time missed, but there are still high hopes for Anderson-Dolan after an impressive performance in training camp and through his first taste of NHL hockey. The Kings are struggling to find any dynamic players on their roster right now, and may be in for a rebuild over the next few seasons. Anderson-Dolan, Vilardi and others like Rasmus Kupari are key to any sort of turnaround in Los Angeles.

Reaction to Los Angeles Kings’ Coaching Changes

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The Los Angeles Kings fired head coach John Stevens and assistant coach Don Nachbaur Sunday and brought in two national team coaches in Willie Desjardins (Canada) and Marco Sturm (Germany). The Kings hope that the pair will be able to try and fix the mess surrounding the 4-8-1 franchise that had high expectations going into the season. Here are some reactions from the Kings as well as the journalists around the situation:

  • TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the Kings had already made their decision to fire Stevens after their 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, as many wondered why the team opted to relieve the coach of his duties after the team picked up a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday.
  • McKenzie adds that the interim tag suggests that if Desjardins and Sturm fare well behind the bench this year, the interim tag could be removed. However, if the team cannot turn the team completely around, the Kings will conduct a formal and extensive search for a new head coach after this season.
  • TSN’s Darren Dreger writes that Sturm would be a prime candidate for the Kings’ coaching job next year after years of solid coaching on the international level.
  • Los Angeles Times’ Helene Elliott reports that Stevens was well aware that his job security was in jeopardy and was always both classy and accommodating. He admitted last week that being on the hot seat was part of his job.
  • Sportsnet’s John Shannon writes that one of the biggest problems for Kings management was a real belief that the team had lost its passion. The team believes that Desjardins, Sturm and Dave Lowry who remains from the old regime can bring that passion back to the team. “We’re going to create a desire for these players to play well here,” general manager Rob Blake said (via Los Angeles Times’ Curtis Zupke).
  • Fox Sports Patrick O’Neal writes that Blake said a “complete level” of Kings needs to improve, suggesting that the GM isn’t happy with any player or any member within the organization at the moment.
  • For those looking for more information on Desjardins, The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek (subscription required) wrote a in-depth piece on the coach before the Olympics in February when he was head coach of Team Canada, including how he got the job there in the first place. “I saw Willie’s teams play a lot last year scouting for Montreal,” said Sean Burke the general manager of the men’s Olympic team. “I was always impressed with how much he got out of his players. I looked at the group we were putting together and thought, ‘well that’s what we’re going to need here.’ We’re going to have a group, where the coach needs to get the most out of the guys – and there’s even more of that element to that in an Olympic event than there would be in an 82-game NHL season. If he can get it out of the NHL guys for 82 games, he can sure get it out of the guys during the Olympics.”
  • The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro (subscription required) notes that Desjardins was a top candidate to take the Dallas Stars job in April which eventually went to Jim Montgomery. However, Shapiro also profiled the coach before Dallas had made its final decision. The profile includes his resume as well as a breakdown of his coaching style.
  • The Associated Press’ Steven Whyno reminds fans that Sturm coached the German National team to the silver medal at the Olympics, a team that surprised many and almost slipped past Team Russia for the gold.
  • FlamesNation reporter Ryan Pike reports that Nachbaur is considered to be a very respected coach with extensive WHL experience, but he hasn’t been able to translate those coaching talents to the NHL.
  • Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen writes that Desjardins had a tough assignment as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks which started in the 2014-15 season. The scribe writes that Vancouver didn’t have enough talent to be successful, but his coaching style at Medicine Hat in the WHL showed that he likes up-tempo teams that push play up the ice.
  • Sirius XM’s Nick Alberga writes that if Desjardins and Sturm don’t make a significant impact on the team, the next domino would likely be the team making trades to break up the team.

 

Los Angeles Kings Fire Coach John Stevens

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The Los Angeles Kings announced that general manager Rob Blake has relieved coach John Stevens of his duties. The Kings have made Willie Desjardins as the interim coach for the rest of the season.

“This is a critical time in our season and our results to date have fallen well below our expectations. With that in mind, this was a difficult decision but one we feel was necessary,” said Blake. “We have a great deal of respect and appreciation for John’s time with our organization. He was a key part of our past success, and we have tremendous gratitude for his many contributions.”

Despite picking up a 4-1 victory Saturday over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the victory didn’t do anything to allow Stevens to keep his job as the team remained 4-8-1 in the team’s first 13 games, giving them the worst record in league with the Florida Panthers the only other team that has nine points (although they have played two less games). Stevens, in just his second year as head coach of the team, took the team to the playoffs last year as the fourth-seed in the Pacific Division, but were swept in the first-round of the playoffs as the Vegas Golden Knights exposed their lack of speed.

Los Angeles responded by adding 35-year-old Ilya Kovalchuk through free agency this offseason and was expected to make a renewed run for a Stanley Cup title with the likes 30-somethings Jonathan Quick, Drew Doughty (he’s actually just 28), Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Trevor Lewis, Nate Thompson, Dion Phaneuf and Alec Martinez. The team was expecting some of their young players to step up, but players such as Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson have struggled under Stevens’ tenure and haven’t developed into the goal scorers that everyone had hoped for. The team also has been without Quick, their star goaltender, for much of the season and there is no word on how much time he might miss with his most recent injury. Throw in the lack of development of some of their prospects and the team was heading down the wrong path with many of their veterans under contract for three of four more years.

Desjardins, who has 20+ years of coaching experience, has been acting as Team Canada’s men’ head coach, including leading the team in the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Korea. He served as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks for three seasons between 2014 and 2017, compiling a disappointing 109-110-27 record. He also led Team Canada to gold at the Spengler Cup in December of 2017. Desjardins also served eight years as head coach in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers where he won two championships in eight seasons there.

The team also released fired assistant coach Don Nachbaur from his duties, who served as the team’s assistant since last season. The team has brought in current German National Team coach and former Kings player Marco Sturm. The team did retain assistant coach Dave Lowry.

One has to wonder what Stevens chances will be to get another head coaching position. He served as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers between 2006 through 2009, reaching the Eastern Conference finals once and a second playoff appearance. He has a combined record of 171-148-43.

Helene Elliott was the first to report the coaching change.

 

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