NHL Game Day Notebook: Nashville Predators vs Arizona Coyotes Game 1
NHL Game Day Notebook: Nashville Predators vs Arizona Coyotes Game 1
NHL Rumor Mill – August 2, 2020
NHL Rumor Mill – August 2, 2020
Latest on the Ducks and Rangers in today’s NHL rumor mill.
THE ATHLETIC (subscription required): Eric Stephens recently listed five players he thinks the Anaheim Ducks could add from cap-strapped teams in the off-season. They include Chicago Blackhawks center Dylan Strome, Toronto Maple Leafs winger Kasperi Kapanen, Arizona Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta, St. Louis Blues winger Jaden Schwartz, and Vancouver Canucks winger Jake Virtanen.
Could the Anaheim Ducks pursue Toronto Maple Leafs winger Kasperi Kapanen in the off-season? (NHL Images)
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stephens provides an excellent, detailed examination of those players and why they could be available. I’ll just add my two cents here.
Strome and Virtanen are restricted free agents, with the latter having arbitration rights. Of the two, Virtanen seems the most likely to be available. He was relegated to the press box during the Canucks tune-up game last week against the Jets. Virtanen has decent offensive skills but his consistency and poor defensive play are ongoing issues. The Canucks could be ready to move on from him following this season.
Raanta puts up solid numbers when healthy. Problem is, he’s been banged up a lot in recent years. He’d make a good backup for John Gibson but also carries a $4.25 million AAV for next season. That would make him a pricey understudy for Gibson. If the Coyotes move Raanta it would be to shed some cap payroll to make room to re-sign Taylor Hall. They won’t be keen to retain part of his salary.
The Blues must dump some salary to clear space to re-sign Alex Pietrangelo and Vince Dunn. However, I don’t think they want to move Schwartz. Their leading trade candidate could be goaltender Jake Allen.
Kapanen would be a nice addition to the Ducks. He’s signed through 2021-22 with an affordable $3.2 million annual average value. The Leafs don’t want to part with him but could have little choice if management can’t find another way to shed salary for next season.
NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks reports the Rangers could face a difficult decision with Jesper Fast. The popular winger won the club’s Player’s Player Award as voted by his teammates for a record fifth straight year.
Fast is due to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. Brooks believes the hardworking winger will seek much more than the $1.85 million annually that he’s currently earning. However, it could be difficulty squeezing that raise into the Rangers’ limited salary-cap space.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: According to Cap Friendly, the Rangers have over $68 million invested in 16 players for 2020-21. They must also re-sign restricted free agents such as Ryan Strome, Tony DeAngelo, Brendan Lemieux, and Alexandar Georgiev.
Unless they shed significant salary (contract buyout for Henrik Lundqvist, perhaps?), they won’t have enough to keep everyone. Fast could become the odd man out.
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 2, 2020
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 2, 2020
Recaps of the opening games of the qualifying round and much more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: Chicago Blackhawks winger Dominik Kubalik scored twice and collected three assists in a 6-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Kubalik set a record for most points by a rookie in his first playoff game. Jonathan Toews also scored twice for the Hawks. Oilers forwards Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had a goal and two assists. Blackhawks forward Drake Caggiula will have a hearing on Sunday with the league’s department of player safety for an illegal hit to the head of Oilers winger Tyler Ennis.
Chicago Blackhawks winger Dominik Kubalik (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Blackhawks feasted on the shaky play of Oilers goaltender Mike Smith and his teammates’ sloppy defensive play. Smith was replaced in the second period by Mikko Koskinen after giving up five goals on 23 shots. He could get the call for Game 2 on Monday.
The Montreal Canadiens upset the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on an overtime goal by Jeff Petry. Canadiens’ goaltender Carey Price made 39 saves while rookies Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki picked up their first NHL playoff goals. Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust replied for the Penguins. Pittsburgh winger Conor Sheary and Montreal winger Jonathan Drouin failed to score on penalty-shot attempts.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Penguins also missed several good scoring opportunities. Nevertheless, Price did a fine job rising to the occasion for his overmatched teammates. If he wasn’t in the heads of the Penguins before this game, he is now.
A 4-1 victory by the Calgary Flames over the Winnipeg Jets was overshadowed by the departure of Jets center Mark Scheifele early in the game with an injured left leg following a collision with Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk. The Flames got power-play goals by Johnny Gaudreau and Mikael Backlund and a shorthanded tally by Tobias Rieder. The Jets also lost winger Patrik Laine to an apparent hand injury in the third period.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jets coach Paul Maurice believes Tkachuk deliberately attempted to injure Schiefele, which the winger denied. There’s no question the loss of Scheifele affected his teammates, who seemed off-balance for most of the game. Maurice also indicated Scheifele and Laine will be examined by specialists, which suggests both could be sidelined for lengthy periods.
Sebastian Aho and Jaccob Slavin each had a goal and an assist as the Carolina Hurricanes edged the New York Rangers 3-2. Petr Mrazek picked up the win with a 24-save effort. Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 34 shots while Mika Zibanejad also had a goal and an assist.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The score flattered the Rangers, who were dominated by the Hurricanes for most of this game. It would’ve been a more lopsided loss if not for Lundqvist, who got the call after Igor Shesterkin was a last-minute scratch. He’s listed as day-to-day. Rangers winger Jesper Fast left the game in the first period following a big hit by former teammate Brady Skjei.
Semyon Varlamov kicked out 27 shots while Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anthony Beauvillier scored as the New York Islanders held on for a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 26 shots for the Panthers. Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk left the game in the second period following an illegal hit to the head from Panthers blueliner Mike Matheson.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bobrovsky kept his teammates in this game but they couldn’t get the equalizer. No word on Boychuk’s status while Matheson only received a two-minute penalty.
HEADLINES
THE SCORE: Prior to Saturday’s Oilers-Blackhawks game, Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba made a moving speech on behalf of the Hockey Diversity Alliance and took a knee during the American National Anthem, flanked by Blackhawks goalie Malcolm Subban and Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. Dumba is among the co-founders of the Hockey Diversity Alliance to eradicate racism and intolerance in hockey.
NBC SPORTS BOSTON: Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask is questionable for today’s round-robin game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Coach Bruce Cassidy said Rask wasn’t feeling well and was unfit to participate in yesterday’s practice.
Bruins winger Ondrej Kase finally rejoined his teammates after missing all of the Phase 3 training camp. He isn’t expected to be in today’s lineup and it could be a few games before he returns to action.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Cassidy’s remarks about Rask doesn’t sound as though his status is COVID-related.
NBC SPORTS WASHINGTON: Capitals defenseman John Carlson returned to practice Saturday for the first time since leaving Wednesday’s exhibition game with an undisclosed ailment. It’s yet to be decided if he’ll play in tomorrow’s round-robin game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
NHL Rumor Mill – August 1, 2020
NHL Rumor Mill – August 1, 2020
Alex Ovechkin, Brenden Dillon, and the Capitals postpone contract talks until after the playoffs, plus the latest on the Sabres in today’s NHL rumor mill.
NHL.COM: Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said contract extension discussions with Alex Ovechkin are on hold until after the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Given the uncertainty that’s unfolded this year in the NHL, MacLellan indicated both sides want to see how everything pans out.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (NHL Images).
Ovechkin, 34, has one year remaining on his contract. He’ll be eligible for unrestricted free agent status at the end of next season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This isn’t a rumor, of course, but Ovechkin’s contract status could generate interest following this season. The longer he goes without an extension, the more speculation about his future with the Capitals.
Ovechkin’s current contract counts as over $9.538 million annually against the Capitals’ salary-cap payroll. In actual salary, he’s earning $10 million per season.
Despite his age, Ovechkin remains among the NHL’s elite players, winning the Richard Trophy for the ninth time as the league’s leading goal scorer (shared this season with Boston’s David Pastrnak). He’s among the greatest goal scorers in NHL history.
Ovechkin’s also the greatest player in Capitals history, the man who led them to their first Stanley Cup. He’s the face of that franchise. Re-signing him, however, could get interesting.
Cap Friendly indicates the Capitals have over $57 million invested in 13 players to 2021-22, though that figure will rise depending on who they re-sign or add to their roster this season and for how long. Winger Jakub Vrana and goaltender Ilya Samsonov will be restricted free agents next year and due for pay raises. Finding sufficient space for Ovechkin’s new contract, as well as Vrana’s and Samsonov’s, and having enough to fill out the rest of the roster could be challenging.
I’ll be shocked if Ovechkin and the Capitals don’t work something out. It’ll be fascinating to see how much term and dollars he gets to stay in Washington and the effect the Capitals’ payroll under what could be a flat cap for ’21-’22.
NBC SPORTS WASHINGTON: J.J. Regan reports MacLellan also indicated contract negotiations for this year’s pending free agents are on hold until the playoffs are over. That includes defenseman Brenden Dillon, a pending UFA who joined the Capitals from the San Jose Sharks near the February trade deadline. Dillon has expressed interest in re-signing with the Capitals.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Dillon, Braden Holtby, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Radko Gudas are UFAs at the end of this season, while Travis Boyd and Jonas Siegenthaler are restricted free agents. With over $71.1 million invested in 16 players, there’s not a lot of wiggle room there.
Holtby, Kovalchuk, and Gudas are expected to depart via free agency. Boyd and Siegenthaler should be affordable re-signings. Depending on Dillon’s asking price, they might be able to squeeze him into their payroll.
THE ATHLETIC (subscription required): In a recent mailbag segment, John Vogl expressed his belief the Buffalo Sabres’ No.1 job is to find a center for high-prices winger Jeff Skinner.
He doesn’t expect the Sabres will pinch pennies with their roster. However, he acknowledged an off-season comment by team co-owner Kim Pegula where she noted the club had spent toward the cap for years with little to show for it.
Vogl also believes the Sabres must improve their goaltending. He’d be concerned if they should pass up a netminder who’s available for a reasonable price.
Defenseman Brandon Montour could become a trade candidate. He’s a restricted free agent with arbitration rights and the Sabres have sufficient right-side blueline depth.
Whether the Sabres plunge into this year’s UFA pool depends on the trade market.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Given their recent front-office purge, it’s difficult to determine what’s in store for the Sabres under rookie general manager Kevyn Adams. I agree with Vogl regarding their needs, but Adams and company could see things differently. The earliest indications should come in the days following the Stanley Cup Final and leading up to the 2020 NHL Draft.
If the Pegulas get frugal with their payroll, we can expect a younger roster supplemented by cheap, short-term additions via the trade and UFA market. However, that probably won’t sit well with captain Jack Eichel. The Sabres must commit to winning or risk alienating their franchise player.
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 1, 2020
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 1, 2020
The puck drops on the qualifying rounds, updates on Dougie Hamilton and Tony DeAngelo, the league makes a ruling on conditional picks in the Neal-for-Lucic trade, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
NHL.COM: The road to the Stanley Cup begins as the best-of-five qualifying rounds of the return-to-play plan opens with five games today.
The New York Rangers face off against the Carolina Hurricanes at noon ET, followed by the Chicago Blackhawks meeting the Edmonton Oilers at 3 pm ET and the Florida Panthers vs the New York Islanders at 4 pm ET.
This evening sees the Montreal Canadiens square off with the Pittsburgh Penguins (7 pm ET), followed by the Winnipeg Jets tangling with the Calgary Flames (10:30 pm ET).
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Check your local listings. I always wanted to say that.
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton is listed as unfit to play for Game 1 against the Rangers. He missed several recent practice sessions with an undisclosed ailment. Hamilton resumed skating on Friday and coach Rod Brind’Amour indicated the blueliner is feeling better.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hamilton missed the second half of the regular season with a broken leg. He’s fully recovered but it’s assumed he suffered a lower-body injury during Phase 3 training camp. Brind’Amour isn’t ruling out Hamilton returning to play later in this series.
NEW YORK POST: Rangers blueliner Tony DeAngelo will be a game-day decision.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As per league protocols, the Rangers cannot elaborate as to why DeAngelo could be held out of the lineup today.
SPORTSNET: The NHL has issued rulings on three trades involving conditional draft picks during this season.
The most noteworthy is the Edmonton Oilers having to transfer their third-round pick in 2020 or 2021 to the Calgary Flames to complete the transaction that sent Milan Lucic to the Flames last July for James Neal. The Oilers have until the start of the third round in this year’s draft to decide which pick they’ll move.
The league also ruled on the trade that saw the Toronto Maple Leafs acquire goaltender Jack Campbell and forward Kyle Clifford from the Los Angeles Kings. The Leafs will owe the Kings a 2021 second-round pick if they win their qualifying-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and if Campbell records two-or-more victories, or if Clifford re-signs with the Leafs.
A more complicated ruling involved the deal that saw the New Jersey Devils send Sami Vatanen to the Carolina Hurricanes at the trade deadline. A conditional fourth-rounder was part of the return for the Devils.
If the Hurricanes eliminate the Rangers in their qualifying-round series and Vatanen plays 70 percent of those games, the Devils receive the Canes’ third-round pick in 2020. If Vatanen plays less than 70 percent but appears in two contests and the Canes eliminated the Rangers, the Devils get Carolina’s 2020 fourth-rounder. If he appears twice and the Rangers win the series, the Hurricanes choose whether to move their 2020 or 2021 fourth-rounder. If Vatanen doesn’t play against the Rangers, the Devils don’t get a pick.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Clifford re-signing condition will be among the last in which conditional picks are attached to trades depending on the player re-signing with his new team. That’s now prohibited under the recent CBA extension.
THE SCORE: The NHL recorded no positive COVID-19 tests since the players’ arrival last Sunday in the two hub cities of Edmonton and Toronto. Over 1,500 tests have been conducted daily in each city.
NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman explained why Flyers mascot Gritty can’t be in Toronto with the team. “I don’t think we have a nasal swab that goes up his beak that far,” chuckled Bettman.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The real reason, of course, is furry discrimination. Kidding aside, each club could only bring 52 personnel (including 31 players) to their bubble city. With no fans in attendance, team mascots are considered non-essential personnel. Gritty will have to watch the games on TV like the rest of us.
2020 NHL Playoffs: Western Conference Round Robin Seeding Preview
2020 NHL Playoffs: Western Conference Round Robin Seeding Preview