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Snapshots: Maple Leafs, Penguins, Lundqvist

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The Toronto Maple Leafs held a wide-ranging media availability today, where players and management both expressed their frustration with how the season ended. The Maple Leafs once again failed to win a postseason series, extending a drought that is now up to 15 years. In his part of the availability however, team president Brendan Shanahan told reporters including Kristen Shilton of TSN that he still believed in the people running the program:

I have complete faith in Kyle (Dubas) as a general manager, in Sheldon (Keefe) as a coach and complete confidence in what we’re going to do here in Toronto.

Dubas, who has been on the job since taking over from Lou Lamoriello in 2018, stuck up for several of his players including Mitch Marner, whose criticism from fans over the last few days he called “idiotic.” The Maple Leafs now enter the offseason with a huge chunk of their salary cap tied up in their star forwards and lots of need to improve other areas.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t get much of the same defense from their general manager yesterday when Jim Rutherford said changes would have to be made. Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required) released his annual examination of which roster players could be the target of Rutherford’s wrath and on their way out this summer. While Justin Schultz—a specific target of Rutherford yesterday—finds himself in the “So Long, Farewell” tier, so does Nick Bjugstad who just a few years ago was a 20-goal scorer with plenty of promise. Bjugstad recorded just one goal and two points in 13 games for the Penguins this season.
  • The New York Rangers aren’t expected to carry three goalies next season and that could mean an end to Henrik Lundqvist’s run with the franchise. That won’t be done without speaking to him first, however, as according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com team president John Davidson already had a “personal discussion” with the legendary goaltender after getting off the plane ride home. Lundqvist has always been loyal to the Rangers, but has another year with an $8.5MM cap hit and has already relinquished the starting role to Igor Shesterkin.

New York Rangers Win The First-Overall Pick

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Phase two of the NHL Draft Lottery took place this evening, and the New York Rangers were the big winners. The first-overall pick and the right to draft Alexis Lafreniere was on the line after the first part of the lottery ended up in a “TBA” team winning, which then went to one of the eliminated qualification round teams. Lafreniere, the consensus top prospect in this year’s field, will get a chance to join Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad on October 9th when the draft is held virtually and is expected to make an impact in the 2020-21 season.

The rest of the qualification losers will be dropped in based on regular season points percentage. That means the top-15 selections will look like this:

  1. New York Rangers
  2. Los Angeles Kings
  3. Ottawa Senators (via San Jose Sharks)
  4. Detroit Red Wings
  5. Ottawa Senators
  6. Anaheim Ducks
  7. New Jersey Devils
  8. Buffalo Sabres
  9. Minnesota Wild
  10. Winnipeg Jets
  11. Nashville Predators
  12. Florida Panthers
  13. Carolina Hurricanes (via Toronto Maple Leafs)
  14. Edmonton Oilers
  15. Pittsburgh Penguins

Lafreniere is quite the prize for the Rangers. The 18-year old forward is coming off his second consecutive CHL Player of the Year award after dominating for the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL. In 173 regular season games across three years for the club, Lafreniere recorded 297 points to go along with Hlinka-Gretzky and World Junior gold medals. There is very little he can’t do offensively, and he’ll get to join what is turning into a loaded forward group in New York. Remember, the Rangers won the second-overall pick in last year’s lottery and ended up selecting Kaapo Kakko, another extremely talented winger (who admittedly didn’t have an excellent rookie season).

Another change from the lottery includes the Hurricanes picking up a top-15 pick of their own. The Maple Leafs had sent them that pick to get Carolina to buyout Patrick Marleau, but it was lottery protected and would have stayed with Toronto had they won tonight. The Hurricanes will actually give up their own pick to the Rangers as part of the Brady Skjei deal, but still have a chance of picking a top prospect.

Undoubtedly though, the Rangers front office will come out of tonight with huge smiles on their faces. Though they didn’t get the chance to advance in the playoffs, their time is coming as a contender in the Eastern Conference.

Poll: Who Do You Want To Win The Draft Lottery?

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Seven teams in the NHL didn’t get a chance to return to play this summer. Their regular seasons were so disastrous that they didn’t qualify for a tournament which saw 24-teams take part. But none of them will be rewarded with the first-overall pick in 2020. Instead, that selection will go to one of the eight teams eliminated over the past week, after the first part of the draft lottery ended with a TBA club taking home the top spot.

The qualification round provided some incredible storylines. It also provided some eye-popping upsets. Both the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens, respective 12-seeds going into the return to play format, defeated Stanley Cup contenders with all-world talents leading the way. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and their teams are out before even seeing the first round but now have a chance to land a consolation prize of sorts.

The Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Winnipeg Jets, and Minnesota Wild all have a 12.5% chance of being awarded that first-overall pick, and the chance to select two-time CHL Player of the Year Alexis Lafreniere.

That may seem ridiculous, given the regular season performances from those clubs, but remember it required a previous lottery to get to this point. There was only a 24.5% chance of a qualification-round team earning the pick in the first place. That ended up happening, with the Los Angeles Kings also moving up to second place. The Detroit Red Wings, who had the highest chance of winning any of the three lottery spots ended up the big losers of the event, dropping all the way down to fourth despite winning just 17 games this season.

The league will announce the lottery winner this evening, with hockey fans all over the world tuning in to see where Lafreniere will go. The format of the lottery has drawn massive criticism given how things played out, but that won’t stop it from being a must-see event for the entire NHL.

Where do you want to see the phenom go? Which of the eliminated teams deserves the pick? Which would you hate to see win? Cast your vote below and make sure to explain your choice in the comments!

[Mobile users click here to vote]

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.

Offseason Keys: New York Rangers

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As teams are eliminated from the Qualifying Round, it means that the offseason has arrived for several more squads.  Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return, we shift our focus to the ones that have been ousted.  Next up is a look at the Rangers.

It was a year of mixed expectations for New York.  Even with the additions of Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba over the summer, the belief was that they still weren’t quite ready to contend yet.  Most of the regular season played out like that but the recall of Igor Shesterkin got them rolling to the point where they were a popular pick to make some noise in the playoffs.  However, it didn’t play out like that as they were swept handily by Carolina.  At the end of the day, the result was close to their preseason expectations but their year certainly ended on a sour note.  Here is what GM Jeff Gorton will be looking to accomplish over the next few months.

Add An Impact Left Defenseman

The Rangers are fortunate to have considerable depth on the right side of their back end which is usually the tougher of the two sides to try to fill.  Unfortunately for them, their depth on the left side isn’t as sharp.  Over their series against Carolina, their left side defenders were Marc Staal, Ryan Lindgren, and Brendan Smith.  Staal has been a speculative buyout candidate for a couple of years now, Lindgren is a rookie, and Smith is another frequent buyout option that happened to be playing on his off-side.  Of those, Lindgren is the only one that is part of the long-term future.

There are some prospects on the horizon.  2018 first-round pick K’Andre Miller has turned pro while Libor Hajek got into 28 games this season, albeit in a limited role.  But neither of them are ready to jump into a big minute role just yet and in a perfect world, none of the ones they used against the Hurricanes would be getting heavy minutes as well.

Their salary cap situation (more than $68MM in commitments already with a few notable RFAs of note) is going to make adding anyone of significance particularly challenging this offseason but this is an area that Gorton is going to want to address.  They can hope all they want that their youngsters can eventually play into those roles but it may be a few years before they develop enough to be ready to play heavy minutes in the NHL.  They need someone to bridge that gap between now and then, especially if they intend to get back into playoff contention for next season so even though it will be tough to accomplish, this is a hole that needs to be filled.

Solve The Goalie Logjam

There’s nothing wrong with having goalie depth but carrying three goaltenders on an NHL roster is a tricky field to navigate for any extended period of time.  Once Shesterkin was recalled, that’s the situation they were in which meant one of Henrik Lundqvist or Alexandar Georgiev had to be a healthy scratch.  Shesterkin and Lundqvist are signed for next season already while Georgiev is a restricted free agent.  Keeping all three of them would be great from a depth perspective but it may be a luxury that they simply cannot afford.

So, which one moves on?  It’s safe to say that Shesterkin is staying put so that leaves Lundqvist and Georgiev.  Lundqvist has been a fixture in New York for the last decade and a half and is their franchise leader in games played, wins, and saves.  He also has a cap hit of $8.5MM which is on the high side for a starter, let alone a backup.  The 38-year-old has declined a chance to be traded in the past and has said he wants to wrap up his career with the Rangers.  However, with their cap situation, can they justify keeping him?  A buyout wouldn’t save a ton of cap space next season (he’d still carry a $5.5MM cap charge for 2020-21 and a $1.5MM hit for 2021-22) but $3MM would give them a bit of wiggle room at a time where financial flexibility is a premium.  But is that how they want to part ways with a franchise icon?

The other option is trading Georgiev.  His entry-level deal is coming to an end and he’ll be looking for a sizable raise on his current sub-$800K AAV with 77 NHL games under his belt already.  There are teams that will be looking for a young goaltender with some upside and there won’t be many of them available on the trade market so Gorton could get a reasonable return for him.  On the other hand, if they move Georgiev now, then they’ll be looking for a new backup in 2021 once Lundqvist’s deal expires.  If New York is content with a Shesterkin-Georgiev tandem for the long-term future though, this wouldn’t the most desirable of routes to take.

On the surface, it certainly appears as if Lundqvist’s time with New York is coming to an end as carrying three goalies for all of next season doesn’t appear to be something that they’ll be able to justify doing.

Determine Core RFA Plans

A pair of Rangers had career years at ideal times as they head into restricted free agency with a chance at getting a big raise, even in the current salary cap landscape.  However, there are questions surrounding both of them as well.

Ryan Strome found some early chemistry with Panarin and rode it to a stellar year, one that saw him collect 59 points and log an impressive 19:35 per night of ice time.  At 27, he’s a year away from UFA eligibility which complicates things somewhat.  Is this a sign of this to come or a mirage?  Is it worth signing him long-term if they believe Filip Chytil is ready to move up into the second center role behind Mika Zibanejad?  If they have hesitations about his long-term future with the team, a trade may make more sense as a short-term contract that allows him to get to unrestricted free agency in the next year or two that sees him walk for nothing isn’t ideal.  Having said that, his history of up and down production may limit the number of potential suitors.

Then there’s Anthony DeAngelo.  Last offseason, the Rangers held the hammer when it came to signing him as the defenseman didn’t have arbitration rights and a limited track record.  That yielded a one-year, $925K contract.  This season, he put up an eye-popping 53 points while logging over 19 minutes per game.  That alone is worth a huge raise and now, he can file for arbitration.  All of a sudden, he holds the hammer.  How much will his new deal cost?  And with Trouba signed long-term and Adam Fox (both right-shot defenders) under team control through 2024-25, do they want to make that commitment or would they be better off moving him to fill a hole on their roster (such as their LD vacancy)?

If they do wind up re-signing both of them, their cap space will largely be eliminated which will all but guarantee that they will have to make some deletions from their roster.  Both Strome and DeAngelo were core players for New York this season but when it comes to them, there is still plenty of uncertainty which makes their cases worth keeping an eye on as the decisions that are made will ultimately shape their offseason plans.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Yegor Rykov Traded, Signs In KHL

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August 7: Rykov will play for CSKA this season, the team announced today. Though they said he signed a contract with the team, his deal with the Rangers is technically still in effect unless they decide to terminate it. It’s not clear if he will return at any point to take part in NHL training camp, but it doesn’t appear as though he will be in the Rangers’ plans next season anyway.

At the end of the 2020-21 season Rykov will be a restricted free agent, meaning there is a chance he doesn’t return. The Rangers could at that point retain his rights by issuing him a qualifying offer.

July 30: When the New York Rangers sent Michael Grabner to the New Jersey Devils in 2018, they got back an interesting young defense prospect by the name of Yegor Rykov (in addition to a second-round selection). Rykov had been a fifth-round pick by the Devils in 2016, but was still playing in the KHL and there was no clear timeline on when he would be coming to North America. A little over a year later the Rangers convinced Rykov to sign his entry-level contract, and he spent this season in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Now, with uncertainty over when the AHL will start play, Rykov appears to be heading back to Russia.

The 23-year old’s rights were traded from SKA St. Petersburg to CSKA Moscow, a deal between two of the KHL powerhouses. When the news came across, Rick Carpinello of The Athletic tweeted that the expectation is that Rykov will spend the 2020-21 season in Russia, given how far he is down the Rangers depth chart.

Rykov is still under contract with New York for next season, but according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the deal has a European Assignment Clause for the 2020-21 season. That would mean Rykov essentially controls his own fate unless the Rangers were willing to give him an NHL roster spot.

That may not be so far off, given his early-career experience. The 6’2″ left-handed defenseman has played three fulls seasons in the KHL and a year in the AHL already, despite only turning 23 a few months ago. He was a standout at the World Juniors in 2017 for Russia, taking home a bronze medal before returning to Russia and winning a Gagarin Cup with SKA.

If the speculation proves correct, his development will have to continue overseas for now. Hopefully the Rangers can come to an agreement for another contract in 2021 when he will be a restricted free agent.

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.

Injury Notes: Hamilton, DeAngelo, Carlson

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Dougie Hamilton won’t be in the lineup when the Carolina Hurricanes open their qualification round against the New York Rangers tomorrow. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour told team reporter Michael Smith that Hamilton is still unfit to play, although he is “getting better” after suffering an injury in training camp.

Martin Necas, the other important player that has been sitting out for the Hurricanes, could be in the lineup after looking “really good” at practice. Losing Hamilton is a big deal for a team that is already operating without Brett Pesce as he continues to rehab. Remember the qualification rounds are a best-of-five, with the Hurricanes playing the first three games by Tuesday.

  • The Rangers may be without their own right-handed defenseman, however, as Tony DeAngelo didn’t practice today and is a game-time decision for tomorrow. While he is sometimes overlooked among the top offensive defensemen in the league, DeAngelo did have 53 points in 68 games this season, good enough for fourth on the entire Rangers roster.
  • Though they won’t have Ilya Samsonov, the Washington Capitals are expected to have John Carlson back in the lineup for the round-robin. Capitals GM Brian MacLellan told reporters including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post that Carlson should be skating with the team tomorrow and play on Sunday. Carlson had to leave the team’s exhibition game after falling awkwardly into the boards.

New York Rangers Sign Morgan Barron

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The New York Rangers have convinced a top college prospect to forego his senior season, agreeing to terms with Morgan Barron on a three-year entry-level contract. Barron spent the last three seasons playing at Cornell University, serving as captain in 2019-20. His new deal will start for the 2020-21 season.

There were actually some hopes that Barron would be allowed to sign for the 2019-20 season and help New York in the playoff tournament, but the NHL put an end to that speculation when they ruled new players would not be eligible. Barron will be a candidate for a roster spot as early as next season though, after an outstanding collegiate career.

In three seasons at Cornell, the 6’2″ center recorded 84 points in 98 games and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker award this year. A tantalizing mix of size and offensive flair, Barron has come a long way since being a sixth-round selection in 2017.

His younger brother Justin Barron is a top prospect eligible for the 2020 draft after starring in the QMJHL, but the elder Morgan looks poised to make an impact at the professional level before long.

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