Golden Knights break the bank on Pietrangelo

Posted on October 12, 2020 by Derek

Alex Pietrangelo has found a new home. The former do everything captain of the 2018-19 Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues is headed to Vegas. As had been widely reported, the right defenseman is signing with the Golden Knights. They had to clear room. After trading Paul Stastny back to Winnipeg, they moved defenseman Nate Schmidt to the Canucks for a third round pick.

All this for a team that doesn’t care how much it spends. Even with the flat salary cap holding steady at $81.5 million, the Golden Knights are all about winning. They have no loyalty either. Just ask Marc-Andre Fleury about that after Robin Lehner replaced him as the starting goalie and was re-signed for five years at $25 million. Fleury remains in limbo with Vegas trying to find a taker. But most of the goalie market has been covered. They may wind up keeping Fleury as a quality backup to Lehner.

The issue for Vegas is they’re still over the cap by less than a million. According to puckpedia.com, they’re currently at $82.47 million. So, they still have to subtract another player after signing Pietrangelo to a seven-year deal worth $8.8 million per year. That’ll be the cap hit for the 30-year old veteran defenseman, who’ll play top pair.

Of course, the Knights handed Pietrangelo a full No-Movement Clause over the seven years. Yikes. He’s going to be in his mid 30’s by Year Four of that contract. He’s a very good player who plays good defense and can supply offense. In 70 games last season, the steady defenseman had a career high 16 goals with 36 assists for 52 points and a plus-11 rating. A dependable player, he averaged 24:11 of ice-time per game. For his 12-year career, he’s averaged 24:38.

In 758 games spent in St. Louis, Pietrangelo registered 109 goals with 341 assists for a total of 450 points and a plus-77 rating. The biggest highlight coming last year when he helped lead the Blues to their first ever Cup. During that run which included a close call in the second round over the Stars and stunning the Bruins to win Game Seven in Boston for the Cup, he tallied three goals and 16 helpers for 19 points over 26 games.

He’ll go down as one of the best Blues ever. That’s how much Pietrangelo meant to that team. Unfortunately, he had to move on once St. Louis decided to sign former Bruins defenseman Torey Krug for seven years at an average cap hit of $6.5 million. It’ll certainly be strange to see Krug in a Blues jersey while Pietrangelo will wear Golden Knights colors.

That’s what happens in a cap era. There’s so much player movement that it’s impossible to keep up with everything. I’m still shocked Taylor Hall chose the Sabres for only a year at $8 million while leaving money on the table. But it allows him to keep his options open while betting on himself. Buffalo is banking on it to end a nine-year playoff drought.

In a cap cutting move, the Islanders unloaded defenseman Devon Toews to the Avalanche for two second round picks. Not what I would’ve done. But that’s what they’re facing due to the restricted status of Mat Barzal. He is due a significant raise. Plus Ryan Pulock is a Group II free agent. They also would like to re-sign unrestricted free agent Matt Martin. The Isles don’t have a lot of room.

The other significant signing was made by the Canadiens. After striking out on Hall, they inked Tyler Toffoli for a four year contract worth $17 million. A good move for a solid two-way forward that can play at five, power play and penalty kill.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all who celebrate. That’ll do it for now. I’ll have more later on Rangers top pick Alexis Lafreniere signing his entry level contract.

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Devils trade Joey Anderson to Leafs for Andreas Johnsson

Posted on October 11, 2020 by Derek

In a interesting move yesterday, the Devils added some scoring depth by trading Joey Anderson to the Maple Leafs for Andreas Johnsson. Johnsson is a 25-year old left wing who had been a good secondary scorer in Toronto.

Signed through 2023, his average cap hit is $3.4 million. The Leafs needed to free up salary. Similar to when they dealt Kasperi Kapanen to the Penguins, they found a taker for Johnsson. A late bloomer who was originally a seventh round pick in 2013, his best season came in ’18-19 when he achieved career highs in games played (73), goals (20), assists (23) and points (43).

The past season wasn’t as kind to him. In 43 games, Johnsson’s production dropped off to eight goals with 13 assists for 21 points. He only took part in one game during the Play In Round when the Leafs lost in five games to the Blue Jackets. The reason he was limited was due to a knee injury sustained on Feb. 13. He returned for Game Five when they were shutout by Joonas Korpisalo.

If he does return to form, Johnsson is a good skating forward with solid puck possession numbers. For his three-year NHL career, he’s a 53.8 CF. However, he was used more offensively with 56.8 percent of his zone starts in the offensive zone in ’19-20.

If he pans out, Johnsson could be a good addition to a Devils lineup that needs more offense in support of Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmieri, assuming he stays. He’s a year away from unrestricted free agency. The 29-year old right wing will earn an AAV of $4.65 million in 2020-21. It’ll be interesting to see what GM Tom Fitzgerald decides to do with the consistent finisher who has averaged a shade over 25 goals a season since becoming a Devil.

This far, the big moves have been trading for defenseman Ryan Murray from Columbus and adding Johnsson. They also made a wise decision in signing proven veteran goalie Corey Crawford to share the net with Mackenzie Blackwood.

Prior to dealing away Anderson to Toronto, the Devils had been rumored to be interested in Vladislav Namestnikov. However, he agreed to a two-year contract with the Red Wings for $4 million. A similar deal that ex-Ranger Jesper Fast received from Carolina. The only difference is he got an extra year.

In the biggest free agent news of the day, Taylor Hall reached agreement with the Sabres on a one-year contract for $8 million. It’s interesting that the former Devil who won the Hart Trophy a few years ago, decided to go short-term with Buffalo. He has a moderated no-trade clause. So, he’s willing to bet on himself by playing with Jack Eichel for the next season. Who would’ve thought that was possible?

The Sabres have quietly added pieces including Cody Eakin and Tobias Rieder to improve their secondary scoring depth. Along with the trade for veteran center Eric Staal, the Sabres are banking on Hall, Eichel and Jeff Skinner to lead the team to its first postseason in a decade. They’ve gone nine consecutive years without the playoffs. The longest active NHL streak.

That’s it for now. I’ll have more tomorrow.

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Rangers say goodbye to Jesper Fast, who signs with Hurricanes

Posted on October 10, 2020 by Derek

Just when things couldn’t get harder, another key player from those very good Ranger teams is gone. Jesper Fast left the Blueshirts for the Hurricanes. A hardworking two-way player who always gave an honest effort, the 28-year old right wing agreed to a three-year deal worth an average cap hit of $2 million with Carolina.

The obvious question is why did he only get that salary. If that’s the case, shouldn’t the Rangers have re-signed him? It doesn’t seem like they made an attempt, opting to let Fast test the open market. Mystifying. Maybe Fast preferred to see what he could get and find a contender who would give him a better chance to win. The Hurricanes check off those boxes.

Whatever the reason, a good two-way forward is gone for a reasonable price. I really liked what Quickie brought to the table. A gritty, hard-nosed approach to each shift, he always hustled. The Rangers could plug him anywhere. That’s why he was successful. Fast played five-on-five well and was an above average penalty killer. He scored the first two shorthanded goals of his career in ’19-20.

The former Rangers sixth round pick in 2010 carved out a nice career for himself as a reliable defensive right wing who could slide up and down the lineup. Who could forget his hustle to force a Caps turnover that led directly to Ryan McDonagh scoring from Derek Stepan in sudden death of Game Five against the Capitals to keep the Rangers alive? That kind of determination and defensive instincts is why Fast was popular among teammates and fans.

I’m sure the Canes will appreciate what their newest member brings. To think that Fast fit in with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome on the second first line (Line 1B). It speaks volumes about his character and how much the coaching staff trusted him. When former coach Alain Vigneault bumped him up to the top line in that elimination game versus Washington, he knew. David Quinn used him similarly. I imagine Rod Brind’Amour will too with the retirement of Justin Williams.

For the seven years he spent in Manhattan, Fast reached the 30-point mark twice, doing so in ’15-16 by going 10-20-30, and in ’17-18 when he established career bests in goals (13) and points (33). In fact, 31 of the 33 came at even strength including all 13 of his goals. He added two shorthanded assists.

At 28, Fast had a good ’19-20 by posting 12 goals with 17 assists for 29 points and a career high plus-16 rating over 69 games. That included a pair of shorthanded goals as he and team leader Mika Zibanejad (3 SHG) were dangerous while on the penalty kill. They combined for five of the Blueshirts’ eight shorthanded goals.

A gritty player who is willing to sacrifice the body for the cause, Fast ranked third on the team in hits (125) and second among forwards in blocked shots (53). Only Brett Howden (67 blocks) had more.

For his seven-year Rangers career, Fast finishes with 55 goals and 92 assists for a total of 147 points in 422 games. Fifty-three of the 55 goals came at even strength as did 89 of his 92 helpers. The other five comprised of four shorthanded points and one power play assist. His ice-time increased over the past three seasons with the 16:36 he averaged this past season the most in his career.

In the postseason, Fast tallied 14 points (6-8-14) over 40 games. Once former teammate Brady Skjei knocked him out of the series early in Game One with a clean hit, the Rangers were never the same. They missed what Fast brought and got swept by the Hurricanes in the best-of-five series. He was also a locker room leader.

Best wishes to Fast in the future. He was a good Ranger.

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Lundqvist moves on to division rival Capitals

Posted on October 10, 2020 by Derek

When the October Madness officially began yesterday, Henrik Lundqvist found a new home. As had been reported by Rick Carpiniello of The Athletic in a translation of a story from a Swedish publication, Lundqvist made it official by joining the division rival Capitals on Friday.

He signed with Washington for one year, $1.5 million. After getting bought out by the Rangers, who have moved on from the Lundqvist Era to the young 24-year old Russian tandem of Igor Shesterkin and Alex Georgiev, the 38-year old veteran goalie will likely be the backup for the Caps behind another young Russian netminder in Ilya Samsonov. Samsonov is 23 and coming off a good rookie campaign.

It took a while for Lundqvist to let go of the only NHL team he’s ever known. The all-time Rangers franchise leader in wins (459) and shutouts (64) knew his time was up once he was relegated to third string duty behind Shesterkin and Georgiev. Even if they gave him two final starts with Shesterkin hurt in the Play In Series versus the Hurricanes, by that point he realized it was over.

A prideful and passionate man who loved living in the big city and all that comes with being a Ranger under the spotlight, Lundqvist enjoyed his time here. He loved the way the fans supported him from the very beginning. Who knew that a seventh round pick in the 2000 NHL Draft would become such a star for an Original Six franchise? Give the European scouts credit.

It’s ironic that he’s going to join former adversary Alex Ovechkin in DC. A electrifying superstar who beat Lundqvist 24 times, tying Sidney Crosby for the most goals against him. A great goalie who after losing to Ovechkin twice in the playoffs, led his team to three straight wins over those Caps in 2012, 2013 and 2015. The final one being the most memorable.

Even more ironic, this is Ovechkin’s final year of that long-term contract he signed over a decade ago. He will earn $9.54 million at age 35 as he continues his chase of Wayne Gretzky’s 894 goals. The Great Eight will enter 2021 with 706 career goals. A nine-time Rocket Richard winner with three Harts and a Stanley Cup, Ovechkin still has the desire to win another championship. Something Lundqvist alluded to when discussing why he chose the Caps. His drive to win a Cup continues. Only it’ll be in those red and navy blue colors with stars representing the nation’s capital.

He won’t wear the familiar number 30. Instead, he’ll be rocking the red with a new number 35. How many fans will buy the new Lundqvist jersey? When Martin Brodeur left the Devils and signed with the Blues, his number 30 sold plenty in St. Louis. You have to think the same will be the case for King Henrik. He’s always been very popular with hockey fans, who love his intensity. He truly wants to win and feels it can happen playing on a still talented team of Caps that features Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie, Tom Wilson, John Carlson, Dmitry Orlov, Jakub Vrana, Lars Eller, old friend Carl Hagelin and newest Capital Justin Schultz.

I hold no ill will against Lundqvist. Even if it’s a hated division rival, he’s doing what’s best for him. That’s how divorces work. Undoubtedly, he will be very motivated to prove he still has something left. Especially with how the last two seasons went in the Big Apple. The team he’ll play for is better, deeper and more proven. They’ll also be coached by former Stanley Cup winner Peter Laviolette. That in itself will be strange to get used to.

The question for the Caps is how much of a window do they have left. After finally winning the Cup in ’17-18 under the guidance of current Islanders coach Barry Trotz, they’ve been eliminated in consecutive first rounds by the Hurricanes and Islanders. Similar to Lundqvist, they should have something to prove. Are they still a serious contender or have teams like the Flyers, Islanders and Hurricanes passed them by?

What about Lundqvist possibly returning to Madison Square Garden as an opponent in an arena he once owned? How will it feel if by that point, there are fans allowed in the building? You have to know he’ll get a tremendous reception from his former team, who does things with class. They never forget recent former Rangers. If only they recognized Frank Boucher.

With the addition of the older Lundqvist, who can help Samsonov develop, the Caps said goodbye to former Cup winning goalie Braden Holtby, who signed with the Canucks to replace Jacob Markstrom. He will have a similar role in Vancouver due to Thatcher Demko. They paid tribute to Holtby. A former Vezina winner like Lundqvist, who went save for save with him in the 2015 second round series.

Sadly, that’s the nature of the salary cap. Where good players on championship teams are let go due to teams being forced to cut costs. If it were a softer cap, you wouldn’t see as many players switching jerseys.

It’ll be different seeing Henrik Lundqvist in a Caps jersey. Plus he’ll be wearing a different number. No. 35 with Lundqvist on the back will take some getting used to. However, he’s at peace with the decision and grateful to the Rangers organization for how well treated he was. For 15 years, fans chanted, “Hen-rik, Hen-rik, Hen-rik!” Now, they’ll chant “Ig-or, Ig-or, Ig-or!”, and “Geor-gie, Geor-gie, Geor-gie!”

The “Hen-rik”, chants will come from Capital fans. How weird that will be. Maybe it’s the whole strange year of 2020. Even if hockey isn’t expected to return until the following calendar year, it’ll take some getting used to.

For the disappointed crowd who are upset he chose a rival, get over it. You root for the logo on the front. That includes if Lundqvist is in net versus the Rangers. It’s the players who represent the team. Lundqvist did it proudly for 15 years.

Like a classic song from Bob Dylan, “The Times They Are A Changin’.”

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Devils sign Corey Crawford at 2 years, $3.9 million per

Posted on October 9, 2020 by hasan4978

With the Devils needing another goalie after deciding to move on from Cory Schneider, speculation was abound over where GM Tom Fitzgerald would look for a veteran complement to young Mackenzie Blackwood. Unrealistic internet speculation had us trying to get Marc-Andre Fleury but I figured he wouldn’t waive his no-trade to come here anyway. Derek speculated maybe Thomas Greiss. I honestly didn’t even harbor a guess but figured we would not be going into the season with unproven Gilles Senn as our #2 goalie.

Maybe Corey Crawford should have occured to me as a logical guess, especially after reading yesterday that the Blackhawks decided to not offer a contract to their long-time goalie. Sure enough, the Devils made their first significant FA signing in the Fitz era by inking the 36-year old Crawford to a two-year contract. Crawford certainly checks the boxes Fitzgerald was looking for – short-term contract, veteran upgrade and someone who doesn’t need to play 55-60 games at this point of his career.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1314765489919406080?s=20

Crawford is certainly battle-tested with two Stanley Cups and tons of playoff experience in Chicago. He’ll no doubt help Blackwood as a mentor while pushing him for playing time and creating somewhat of a competition at least. Of course given Crawford’s recent health issues (he’s played only 107 games in the last three years), nobody should be expecting him to be a 55-60 game goalie but his numbers even the last couple years on a rebuilding Blackhawks team are worlds better than any non-Blackwood goalie has been for the Devils in recent years.

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Rangers sign Jack Johnson, add depth with former Devil Kevin Rooney

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Derek

On Day One of the very strange October free agency frenzy, the Rangers were mostly quiet. While they did manage to make a few signings, none were over the top. Instead, they went for experience on the back end and addressed fourth line depth.

It’s even stranger to think that the first player they signed was defenseman Jack Johnson. A proven veteran who Penguins fans couldn’t wait to get rid of, he signed a one-year deal worth $1.15 million. The 33-year old American is only signed for a year. Let’s try to keep perspective.

Even if I’m no fan of Johnson, he will bring experience and a veteran presence to the blueline. He isn’t going to wow you. He will deliver hits and block shots. Hopefully, he won’t struggle mightily at five-on-five. While I’m not a huge metrics person, Johnson has been consistently sub-par at Corsica. For his 14-year career, he’s a 47.0 CF. That includes a 46.7 CF last season for Pittsburgh.

Should we be worried? I don’t know. It’s obviously not who anyone wanted after they moved Marc Staal and bought out Henrik Lundqvist to free up necessary cap space. However, maybe the thinking is that they’re not far along yet. Something Team President John Davidson told New York Post columnist Larry Brooks prior to the big NHL Draft that netted future star Alexis Lafreniere and rugged defenseman Braden Schneider.

Perhaps they see what so many fans don’t. That as nice as it would be to really qualify for the postseason (not the Play In crap), it looks like the organization is realistic about expectations. Of course, they want to make the playoffs next year. But it’ll depend on the continued development of the kids including Lafreniere, who Garden Faithful can’t wait to see. When that happens I don’t know. Sometime in 2021.

While Johnson will sacrifice the body for the cause of the team, this isn’t anything more than a filler for a season. Ditto for Anthony Bitetto, who inked a multi-year, two-way deal for $737,500. That means the former Predator,Wild and Jet will likely be insurance just in case they need a healthy body to recall from Hartford. The 30-year old from Island Park, New York played in a career high 51 games in ’19-20 for Winnipeg, tallying eight assists with 32 penalty minutes.

By inking both Johnson and Bitetto, it looks like the Rangers are saying, ‘This is your chance K’Andre Miller.’ The question being is he ready. Only 20, the former 2018 first round pick only spent two years at Wisconsin. We know he can skate and contribute offensively. It’s the other side of the puck that’ll be a concern. If he needs work, they shouldn’t rush him. He’s so young. It takes time to develop players. Especially with Miller being a converted forward.

The Rangers will also be looking at formed 2016 fourth round pick Tarmo Reunanen. A 22-year old left shooting Finn, who improved the past two years for Luuko-Rauma in the SM-liiga. A different league than the one 2018 first round pick Nils Lundkvist plays in. He’s got a goal and assist for Lulea HF in the Swedish Hockey League. The 20-year old will spend another year overseas before the Rangers make a decision on him. No. Don’t buy into Brooks’ click bait crap about them trading him. Let’s be patient.

Meanwhile, Libor Hajek is being loaned to HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Extraliga. That means they can bring him back for training camp and see if he can make the team following a disappointing ’19-20 that saw him become an afterthought due to Ryan Lindgren. Hopefully, the former Lightning 2016 second round pick figures it out. You don’t want to see a defense featuring Johnson and well respected veteran Brendan Smith on the left side.

If he stays and they do the sensible thing and bridge him for around two years at say $10 million, Tony DeAngelo has been mentioned by Rangers management as a possibility to move to the left side. I’d rather it be him than Adam Fox, who looks like the crown jewel of the defense. The team also re-signed RFA Brandon Crawley.

The other interesting move was reaching agreement with ex-Devil forward Kevin Rooney. He took a two-year, $750,000 average. The 27-year old is a checking center who is strong on the penalty kill. Of the nine points (4-5-9) he recorded, 33.3 percent came on the kill including two shorthanded goals. Rooney took part in 49 contests for the Devils. He was 47.0 percent on face-offs.

Rooney won’t blow you away, but has a good work ethic. The Corsi isn’t good with him coming in at 43.2 last season. However, the Devils used him extensively in the defensive zone. He started 67.7 percent of the time in the D zone. That tells me the Rangers think Rooney can help upgrade the fourth line and penalty kill. Areas that need to improve.

In another one of those ‘who’ signings, they went for a similar multi-year deal with former Predator forward Colin Blackwell. So, who the heck is he? Apparently, another late bloomer like Rooney. If he makes the team, his contract pays him $725,000 on the cap. So, it’s low risk. Maybe by signing these guys, they could become exposed next year for the Seattle Expansion Draft.

Blackwell registered three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 27 games for Nashville. All ten points came at even strength. He wound up plus-seven and won more draws (37-and-29) than lost. He also registered 43 hits and blocked 23 shots. His possession numbers are better. Despite 53.5 percent of zone starts in the defensive zone, he was a 50.6 CF. That’s good.

What does it mean? Who knows. Maybe the undersized 5-9, 190 pound forward is one of those under the radar guys who can go back and forth between Hartford and New York. Or maybe he’s a glue guy who they can plug in if he is successful. We’ll see.

The final move was a bit of a shock as the Rangers decided to ink former Devil goalie Keith Kinkaid to a two-year deal worth an average of $875,000. Basically, the former Devils hero who moved on to Columbus and Montreal, is just insurance for Igor Shesterkin and Alex Georgiev. He will be exposed at next year’s expansion draft.

Kinkaid is a good locker room guy with great character. There’s nothing wrong with that even if it’s for Hartford. What does that mean for Tyler Wall and Adam Huska? Well, Huska is on loan to Zvolen HKm in the Slovak League.

What can we conclude from these signings? Just that the Rangers aren’t going to go nuts which is a good thing. They need a good portion of the leftover money for key restricted free agents DeAngelo, Ryan Strome, Georgiev, Brendan Lemieux and Phil Di Giuseppe, who they qualified due to a good showing in ’19-20.

Even though they are outsiders for Jesper Fast, there should be enough money left to see if he wants to come back. I’d love to see him return if it’s not more than three years for say $3.25 million AAV. That’s up to him. If not, they’ll lose a valuable two-way right wing David Quinn trusts to use at five-on-five and on the penalty kill. Plus Quickie can slide up and down the lineup.

I wonder if they would consider former Blueshirt Michael Grabner on a one-year deal for around $1.5 million. He sure was good while he was here. A superb skater with defensive instincts, breakaway speed and a shorthanded threat. I wouldn’t mind.

The only real disappointment was seeing Alex Wennberg sign with the busy Panthers for a year at $2.25 million. A guy I wouldn’t have minded as a pseudo Strome replacement for cheap. The Panthers have Radko Gudas three years at $2.75 million AAV. They also signed a guy I like in Mark Borowiecki for two years at $2 million per.

Another guy to keep an eye on is Tyler Johnson. As expected, Tampa is trying to trade him. It looks like no one bit because they placed him on waivers. He was due $5 million AAV over the next four years. Yeah. Nobody is taking that contract. But I’ll say this. If they buy him out, someone could get a good player for a more affordable salary. I have always liked him. He can play third line and kill penalties. Johnson can play power play too. The only issue is his size. Maybe that’s why his production has decreased. He’s 30 and still put up 31 points (14-17-31) for the Bolts. But Johnson only went 4-3-7 during their Cup run.

We’ll see what happens. As for the in$anity as Brian would say, is giving Jacob Markstrom six years at $6 million per overkill by the Flames or what. He’ll help them in net, but yikes. And Ottawa paid Matt Murray an AAV of $6.25 million over four years. Good luck. On the same day they signed a thrilled Henrik Lundqvist who couldn’t wait to declare his excited he is to join a division rival and “Win”, the Caps gave the defensively inept Justin Schultz two years at $8 million. Good luck with that.

There’s been a flurry of activity. Maybe I’ll put something up in another post. We’ll wait and see what else happens.

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Devils buy out Schneider, trade for Murray as FA begins

Posted on October 9, 2020 by hasan4978
https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1314602750903291907?s=20

With that deserved sendoff, the Devils officially cut ties with star-crossed Cory Schneider yesterday, putting him on waivers for the purposes of buying out the final two years of his six-year contract. Given what kind of person Cory is everyone hates that it had to end this way, but given the fact he has gone from being one of the best goalies in the league to an unreliable, injury-prone backup making $6 million a year, a divorce was inevitable in the end whether it was this offseason or next. His departure is even more melancholy because his tenure here was filled with what ifs and might have beens.

Not to mention things started out great, as all marriages do and with a theatrical twist to boot as then-GM Lou Lamoriello traded for Cory at the 2013 NHL Draft in Newark with Gary Bettman’s memorable announcement complete with the ‘I think you’re going to want to hear this’ teaser stopping the boos while he spoke. When the announcement was made of the Devils trading the #9 overall pick to Vancouver for the well-regarded Schnieder, it sent the home crowd into a shocked roar.

It looked as if the Devils had their replacement for Martin Brodeur for the next decade. As the NFL’s 49ers went from Joe Montana to Steve Young or the Packers went from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, many thought it would be that kind of transition for the Devils in goal. As we know now, seven and a half years later it just wasn’t meant to be. Not that things started off badly although having Cory on the roster with Marty winding down his career was always going to make for an awkward transition in the first year. Cory did well enough on the ice (1.97 GAA, .921 save percentage) but only got 45 starts as a sporadic rotation helped neither guy in the long run.

Although Cory kept up his level of play for the first two years of the extension he signed after 2014, things only got worse around him on the ice as the team bottomed out in 2014-15. Injuries and a declining team started to take their toll in 2016-17, but Schneider did get off to a strong start in 2017-18 for a resurgent Devils team before he got hurt again, and the bottom fell out when he returned from injury as he couldn’t win a game or stop the puck. Eventually he lost his job to Keith Kinkaid, although he did pull himself together and came off the bench to get the Devils’ only playoff win as they lost in five games to the Lightning. At his nadir Cory was winless in 27 straight regular season starts between 2017-18 and 2018-19, but to his credit never made excuses or blamed anyone else for his struggles.

Even last year was one final frustrating kick in the teeth for Cory, as he played well enough at the end of 2018-19 to get his job back heading into the 2019-20 season, but after a solid camp and first two periods on Opening Night again he got hurt, and again his game went down the drain after that. Not only did he lose his job but he also got demoted for a second straight season down to the AHL. Hopefully whereever Cory lands he’ll be able to stay healthy enough to contribute.

Aside from buying out Schneider there hasn’t been much to report yet in free agency. Late-season defensive fillin Dakota Mermis signed with the Wild and plugger Kevin Rooney signed with the Rangers of all places. I actually wouldn’t have minded either coming back in the right role but Fitz clearly wants to put his stamp on this team, which he continued to do with his trade of a fifth rounder to Columbus for injury-prone defenseman Ryan Murray – who once upon a time was drafted second overall (2012). Murray should be a solid low-cost addition to the top six when he plays although he’s only signed through 2020 and at nearly $5 million so the Blue Jackets were looking to clear cap as much as anything.

So far it seems as if most of the big free agents – aside from the goalies – are in a holding pattern while role players are wisely trying to get cap dollars before they dry up with teams’ budgets going down and the cap remaining flat. We’ll probably be looking for a backup goalie to replace Cory, among other potential needs.

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Rangers Draft mostly North American players with a twist

Posted on October 8, 2020 by Derek

If Day One wasn’t a surprise with Alexis Lafreniere going first and Braden Schneider being a player they targeted by trading up to number 19, then the Rangers Draft on Day Two was again mostly focused on North American players with a twist. The twist is a unique one if it works out.

As noted yesterday, Rangers brass decided it was time to move on from former 2017 seventh pick Lias Andersson by trading him to the Kings for a second round pick. Apparently, letting Andersson play for HV-71 back home in Sweden really helped his stock. Teams checked in on him. So, give them credit for being able to net a number 60 pick from LA for the disgruntled center.

The end result was the selection of Will Cuylle. A young left wing who patterns his game after Tom Wilson. He’s posted back-to-back 20-plus goal and 40-plus point season in the OHL for the Windsor Spitfires. The 18-year old Toronto native is listed at 6-3, 204 pounds. With the ability to finish off one touch passes along with a willingness to get the jersey dirty, he sounds like the type of gritty player the Rangers can use. We’ll see how fast he develops.

In the third round, the Blueshirts liked Sweden’s Oliver Tarnstrom with pick 92. A lefty center who’s the son of former NHL defenseman Dick Tarnstrom, he’s currently playing for AIK in Sweden. He went from scoring a goal in two contests for the AIK Junior National Team to partaking in three games for AIK with no points so far. There isn’t much to go on. He is 6-1 and just 163 pounds. So, he’ll have to get stronger.

In Round Four, the Rangers went with a goalie by grabbing Canadian Dylan Garand out of Victoria, British Columbia. Taken at number 103, Garand is a 6-1, 172 pound netminder who moves well laterally and can recover in time if he misreads a shot. He sounds technically sound. In ’19-20, he posted good numbers for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL. It was a breakout year with Garand going 28-10-3 with a 2.21 GAA, .921 save percentage and four shutouts in 42 games. He represented Canada at the Hlinka Cup posting a 1.51 GAA and .857 save percentage in two games. At the very least, he sounds interesting.

The Rangers are very deep in net with Igor Shesterkin and Alex Georgiev the tandem for next season. Tyler Wall will enter his first pro year at some point with the Wolf Pack. Adam Huska has been loaned to HMK Slovan of Slovakia. Olof Lindbom is in his second year with Mora IK in Sweden. Now, they’ve added Garand. A rare North American goalie to the prospect pool. He isn’t the only netminder they added.

In the fifth round, the organization decided it was worth dealing away a pair of seventh round picks to the Sharks for pick 127 to select center Evan Vierling. After spending part of last year with the Flint Firebirds, he was dealt to the Barrie Colts of the OHL where his production increased. After going 2-8-10 in 15 games with the Firebirds, Vierling was over a point-per-game with the Colts by tallying 12 goals and 22 assists for 34 points in 28 games. Perhaps that improvement was enough to impress Rangers scouts. Elite Prospects describes the left shooting pivot as a two-way, defensively reliable player who is capable of scoring. It also sounds like he doesn’t mind battling opponents in the corners. If it works out, maybe Vierling becomes a quality depth center who will be effective in a secondary role. Those kind of high character players help.

With their own fifth round pick at number 134, the Rangers liked Brett Berard from East Greenwich, Rhode Island. A gritty undersized American left wing who’s listed at 5-9, 163, Berard is of no relation to former Islander and Ranger Bryan Berard. He played for the U.S. National Development U18 team in ’19-20 where he had 34 points (16-18-34) in 41 games with 46 penalty minutes. He also played in the USHL and tallied 18 points (7-11-18) in 13 games. Someone even compared his style to a poor man’s Brad Marchand. They should be so lucky. The bottom line is he’s a fifth round pick. That doesn’t mean he can’t pan out. It’s not always where you drafted, but how well you develop. Berard will attend Providence College this year.

With their sixth round pick, the Blueshirts selected center Matthew Rempe out of Calgary. The big story with the 165th pick is his size. He’s 6-8. The tallest forward ever if he makes his NHL debut down the road. At 6-8, 236, he at least sounds intriguing. In his first season with the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL, he did alright by registering 12 goals with 19 helpers for 31 points while racking up 53 penalty minutes over 47 contests. For a guy with his size, Rempe sounds like a solid three zone player who works hard. I wonder if his height will work against him when it comes to skating. He should be interesting to follow.

In Round Seven, the Rangers had a little fun with their final pick by throwing a twist into the Draft. They did it by taking a goalie from Sweden in the same round they stole Henrik Lundqvist in 20 years ago. How’s that for irony? Especially with Lundqvist set to sign with the Capitals tomorrow. Even cooler is the number 197 pick is named Hugo Ollas. Haha. Has there ever been a NHL player named Hugo before? Insert cheesy The Girl Next Door references. Good movie. Elisha Cuthbert. Case closed. Even better, Ollas is 6-8, 238. So, they took a Swede in the identical round they got Lundqvist in 2000. His name is Hugo. And he’s 6-8. Naturally, the scouting report says he goes down on his knees early (butterfly effect) and uses his size to cut off angles. Ollas is described as “well schooled.” He currently is playing for Linkoping HC J20 back home. In seven games, he has a 2.40 GAA and. 894 save percentage. Who knows. Maybe we’ll see him one day in five or six years.

That’s gonna do it for this Rangers Draft. I’ll try to have more on the prospects with no live NHL hockey until next year. Vitaly Kravtsov is 6-2-8 with St. Petersburg SKA. There’s that. I think there’s a good chance Pavel Buchnevich gets traded soon. I’m not suggesting it’ll happen in the off-season. But he looks expendable given what Kravtsov could bring. I expect him to be on the team sometime in 2021.

In other news, the Senators acquired former Pens goalie Matt Murray yesterday for Jonathan Gruden and a 2nd round pick Wednesday. Now, the two-time Cup winner becomes Ottawa’s new number one goalie at age 26. He wasn’t as consistent for Pittsburgh the past two seasons and lost his job to Tristan Jarry. We’ll see if he can help the rebuilding Senators improve. Murray is expected to sign a extension. He’s a Group II free agent.

Anthony Duclair will be looking for a new NHL team again. The Sens waived him. The former Rangers prospect who was packaged to the Coyotes in the Keith Yandle deal, has yet to find a home. He’s gone from NYC to Arizona to Chicago to Columbus and to Ottawa. He can score goals, but isn’t consistent. Defense is lacking. I wish him luck.

The Devils made it official by placing Cory Schneider in waivers to buy him out. He had two years remaining with $12 million owed. That translates to $2 million in dead cap space over the next four years. Mackenzie Blackwood is a restricted free agent. They’ll be looking for a new backup.

The goalie market is flooded. It’ll include veteran Corey Crawford, who Blackhawks Teflon GM Stan Bowman indicated won’t be back after spending 14 seasons with Chicago. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion that still wants to play. Based on his performance against the Oilers, he still has something left at 35.

Alex Wennberg was also waived by the Blue Jackets, who bought him out. A playmaking center who never got back in John Tortorella’s good graces, the 26-year old should draw interest. Would the Rangers come calling if they walk away from Ryan Strome, who looks to be headed to arbitration?

Veteran Kyle Turris is also available after the Predators corrected a mistake by buying him out. That’s $2 million in dead cap space for Nashville through 2026. Wow. They also swung a deal with the Wild for Luke Kunin. A good move although they had to include a number 37 and 70 to Minnesota, who took Nick Bonino’s salary. The Wild sent back a 101 to complete the transaction.

The Golden Knights haven’t found a taker for veteran Marc-Andre Fleury. Even with them offering to include a first round pick, nobody bit. The problem for Vegas is Fleury is signed through 2022 with a cap hit of $7 million. They don’t want to buy him out due to the dead space it would create. With so many goalies available on the market tomorrow, it’s why teams are staying away.

Braden Holtby, Anton Khudobin and Jacob Markstrom headline the available goalie list that includes Cam Talbot, Thomas Greiss, Crawford, Jimmy Howard and now Schneider. Lundqvist will go to Washington. So, you can cross him off.

Finally, Justin Williams announced his retirement. The epitome of a clutch player, he won three Cups and always came up big for both the Hurricanes and Kings. Happy trails.

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Devils stay predictable at the draft table, with a twist

Posted on October 8, 2020 by hasan4978

If you were expecting fireworks from Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald’s first draft running the team – i.e. a splashy trade, you might have been dissapointed as the organization used all of its first-round picks. In fact the only draft move they made was punting their seventh-round pick, trading that for Arizona’s seventh rounder next year. However, if you were only hoping for more intriguing prospects to be added to the system, you probably weren’t dissapointed in the end.

Perhaps the biggest question going into the draft was whether the Devils would keep all three of their first-rounders, the answer was a resounding yes with nary a trade down or up. Fitz, like previous GM Ray Shero clearly believes in head scout Paul Castron and his staff. Plus it was supposed to be a strong first round anyway, so the Devils took their shots and I’d say went chalk with the first two picks at least, starting with their #7 overall Alexander Holtz.

Holtz is a winger who’s supposed to be the best pure goal-scorer in the draft and is capable of making plays as well. He got regular shifts and power play time for his team Djurgarden, as one of the more productive U18 players ever in the top Swedish league (16 points in 35 games) and was unquestionably among the top group of forwards after first overall pick Alexis Lafreniere. In many ways, this was an easy pick for Fitz considering the lack of pure goalscorers in the system, not to mention the top two defensive prospects were off the board and #7 overall was arguably too early for top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov although I do think he’ll be the real deal and wound up in a great situation with Nashville.

Our #18 pick might have actually been less debatable, as the Devils picked highly regarded center Dawson Mercer who was expected to be off the board a few picks earlier. Mercer is a well-rounded two-way player who can play center or wing, and has some offensive skill (60 points in 42 games for his QJMHL team last year) but also a high understanding of the defensive part of the game. You could say Mercer is a high floor player but that might be underselling his potential celing if he improves his offense just a little bit.

With our third first rounder, Fitz threw his biggest curveball of the draft at #20. I admit I’ve done almost a complete 180 on defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin of the KHL since we selected a guy who was rated as more of a tweener 2nd/3rd round pick in the first round. As with Holtz, Fitz put a lot of stock in the fact this guy has held his own against men in an top professional league. He’s certainly got the toolbox, as a 6’3 defenseman who can move the puck and Mukhamadullin’s shown some offensive aptitude with 6 points in his first 14 games this year. Historically, U19 defenseman rarely play at all in the KHL, so the fact he is, and has taken a big step up early in this season bodes well. Defensively he might have consistency issues at this point in his development but if he can make full use of his frame and reach the Devils may have found a diamond in the rough.

My criticism was mainly why not at least trade back if you’re going to go off the board, but in hindsight Fitz was probably right to stand pat since the draft started wildly diverging from consensus ranks at about that point in the first round, with Columbus’s next pick even more off the board so to speak. Plus the fact you have games ‘this’ season to evaluate players like Mukhamadullin on makes it tricky to rate guys as if 2020 was a conventional summer draft. He could be one of those guys who is making a big leap from his age 18 season to his age 19 season.

Without a second round pick it was a long time yesterday (even longer with the insanely slow pace of the second round) before the Devils selected again, picking goalie Nico Daws. Daws is an overager who wasn’t drafted last year, but showed enough growth in the high-scoring OHL last season to be a member of Canada’s U20 team and get drafted here. As a 6’4 goalie, he’s certainly got the size for the position but like with all big goalies, lateral movement is a question at the highest level. Still, he’s an intriguing mid-round pick and an example of why I don’t like drafting goalies in the first round. You can find guys like Daws in the middle rounds every year, and sometimes they pop.

New Jersey rounded out its draft with Czech center Jaromir Pytlik in the fourth round, who showed enough aptitude to play a solid two-way game in the OHL but his lack of high-end skill or tools at this point of his development left him as a fourth-rounder. Assuming special assistant Patrik Elias put in a good word though, that’s enough for me to endorse the pick. With our two fifth rounders, the Devils picked undersized D Ethan Edwards from the Alberta Junior Hockey league and Russian-born forward Artem Shlaine from the USHL with picks #120 and #130. To finish off the draft, the Devils selected center Benjamin Baumgartner from Davos of the Swiss league at #161.

I won’t presume to put a grade on the draft, part of me still wishes we could have been able to trade one of our latter two first rounders for more of an immediate upgrade but such deals weren’t made at all on day one by anyone so it’s impossible to get on Fitz for that. You could pretty much debate any pick except maybe Mercer to a degree. Even with Holtz, many Devil fans were going gaga over playmaking Marco Rossi, who went to the Wild two picks later at #9. Time will tell in the end on just how well Fitz managed this draft, and how well Castron and his scouts did in finding future players for the Devils organization.

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Rangers deal Lias Andersson to Kings for the 60th pick, take forward William Cuylle

Posted on October 7, 2020 by Derek

Day Two of the NHL Draft is very busy. Rounds 2-7 continue at lightning speed with the two-day event concluding later tonight.

For the Rangers, that meant saying goodbye to Lias Andersson. Once billed as a key part of the future following the Derek Stepan trade that netted the seventh pick in 2017 and defenseman Tony DeAngelo, the Swedish center never established himself on Broadway. Though the lack of communication between the organization and player is why it didn’t work out.

Andersson was dealt to the Kings in exchange for the 60th pick near the end of the second round. While Andersson could eventually wind up getting a new start in Los Angeles assuming he comes over next year after playing for HV-71, the Rangers moved on by selecting forward William Cuylle. A young left wing with size going 6-3, 204 pounds, the 18-year old Cuylle has spent the past two seasons playing for the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). If anything, he’s been consistent putting up 41 points (26-15-41) in ’18-19 and 42 points (22-20-42) in ’19-20.

A player who patterns his game after Caps pest extraordinaire Tom Wilson, he sounds like another gritty North American the Rangers can use in the future. They have plenty of skill. It seems like the draft strategy by GM Jeff Gorton and Team President John Davidson is clear. After landing prize top pick Alexis Lafreniere, they’re addressing the lack of toughness that was exposed by the Hurricanes.

First, it was by trading with Calgary up to number 19 to grab defenseman Braden Schneider, who might’ve been on the Devils radar. Everything about him sounds tough. He got into a tussle with Rangers 2019 second round pick Karl Henriksson at the Under 18 World Junior Championships in 2019. In seven games, he had two goals and a helper.

Now, they’ve added Cuylle, who’s also a huge fan of Star Wars. In fact, he raved about it during an interview via Zoom conference. Funny stuff. It shows that he has some personality. Aside from that, he is a player who has a quick release. Based on the scouting report off Elite Prospects, Cuylle can put the puck in the net with a good wrist shot. He was ranked number 45 among North American skaters by semi-retired TSN analyst Bob McKenzie. McKeen’s Hockey had him rated 63rd and Craig Button number 94.

It’s always interesting to see the different opinions on a young prospect. I’ll trust McKenzie with this one. No disrespect towards Button. Interestingly, Central Scouting had Cuylle ranked 34th among NA skaters. So, opinions vary.

As for Andersson, who turns 22 next week, best of luck to him. Sometimes, it doesn’t always go as expected with your first team. I know there was a lot of pressure and high expectations due to who he was traded for and where the Rangers took him. They deserve some blame for that. Clearly, taking Andersson at number seven was a reach. Even in a draft that hasn’t produced many established players. However, they took him over Martin Necas, Nick Suzuki and Robert Thomas.

Filip Chytil went 21st to the Rangers. He’s still very much in their plans. The question is is it as a center or wing. With the team deciding to qualify Ryan Strome before today’s 5 PM EST deadline, they have options. Is it to determine what to do with Strome, who could be headed towards arbitration? Maybe. Or they could trade his rights if there’s an interested suitor. We’ll see where that goes.

In regards to who else the Blueshirts have added today, they grabbed Swedish defenseman Oliver Tarnstrom at number 92 and then went for yet another goalie in Canadian late bloomer Dylan Garand at 103. Evan Vierling was taken in the fifth round at number 127.

That’s it for now. I’ll have more on the draft later. That’ll include who got former Pens goalie Matt Murray.

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