Down the Frozen River

Tag: John Tavares

  • Analysis: Wilson Robs Sens Again in Karlsson Trade

    The San Jose Sharks didn’t land John Tavares in free agency on July 1st, but they did get Erik Karlsson via a trade with the Ottawa Senators on September 13th, so it’s kind of the same thing.

    San Jose acquired Karlsson and prospect forward Francis Perron from the Senators on Thursday in exchange for forwards Chris Tierney and Rudolfs Balcers, defenseman Dylan DeMelo, prospect Josh Norris, a conditional 2019 2nd round pick and a conditional 2020 1st round pick. If the Sharks re-sign Karlsson, Ottawa will receive a conditional 2021 2nd round pick.

    Ottawa receives San Jose’s 1st round pick in 2019 if the Sharks miss the 2019 postseason otherwise the Senators receive San Jose’s 1st round pick in 2020 (not lottery protected). The 2nd round pick in 2019 that Ottawa will receive will be the higher of the two picks San Jose currently owns (Florida Panthers 2019 2nd round pick and their own).

    Should Karlsson re-sign with the Sharks, San Jose’s 2021 2nd round pick becomes a 2021 1st round pick (not lottery protected) if the Sharks reach the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. Finally, if Karlsson is flipped to an Eastern Conference team during the 2018-19 season, the Senators will receive an additional 1st round pick from the Sharks no later than 2022.

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    Karlsson, 28, is a two-time winner of the James Norris Trophy (2012 and 2015) as the NHL’s best defenseman. Since entering the league in 2009-10, no other defenseman has more points than Karlsson with 126-392–518 totals in 627 career NHL games with Ottawa.

    The 6-foot, 190-pound native of Landsbro, Sweden was drafted in the first round (15th overall) by the Senators in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and has 37 points (six goals, 31 assists) in 48 career Stanley Cup Playoff games. He served as the captain of the Sens since October 2014 and led the team in average ice time (26:44) last season, while en route to scoring 62 points (nine goals, 53 assists) in 71 games played.

    A representative of Sweden on the international level, Karlsson won a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

    Perron, 22, was selected by Ottawa in the seventh round (190th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft and spent the last two seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) with Binghamton and Belleville. He has 10-31–41 totals in 112 career AHL games.

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    Tierney, 24. was originally drafted by San Jose in the second round (55th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He has 41-63–104 totals in 284 career games with the Sharks and had 40 points (17 goals, 23 assists) in 82 games last season.

    A native of Keswick, Ontario, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound center signed a two-year extension with San Jose in July and has 5-7–12 totals in 40 career postseason appearances.

    DeMelo, 25, was drafted by the Sharks in the sixth round (178th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound defender has 3-29–32 totals in 133 career NHL games and is a native of London, Ontario. DeMelo has one assist in 10 career Stanley Cup Playoff games– all of which came this postseason against the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights.

    Balcers, 21, was selected by San Jose in the fifth round (142nd overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. The Latvian winger spent last season with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) and led the team in scoring with 23-25–48 totals in 67 games played.

    Norris, 19, was drafted in the first round (19th overall) by the Sharks in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and is entering his sophomore season at University of Michigan. He had eight goals and 15 assists (23 points) in 37 games with Michigan last season.

    In Ottawa’s official announcement of the trade, only Senators General Manager Pierre Dorion made any kind of remarks thanking Karlsson for his time and dedication to the organization since the 2009-10 season.

    That speaks volumes to the character of franchise owner, Eugene Melnyk, considering that odd rebuild propaganda video he recorded with current blueliner Mark Borowiecki, whereby Melnyk stressed he wanted character and veteran leadership in the dressing room.

    It also doesn’t help ease relations with Senators fans currently disgruntled with the dumpster fire of a rebuild process going on that Ottawa’s press release on the trade cited the decision to trade Karlsson as one that “sets the team up for a promising future, building toward the creation of a younger, faster and stronger roster overall– characterized by a commitment to leadership, character and chemistry.”

    Leadership? You just traded your captain in his prime.

    Character? Did you not see Karlsson and his wife, Melinda, partner with an Ottawa organization for the launch of an anti-bullying charity in August?

    And about that “younger, faster and stronger roster overall”? No amount of Chris Tierney and Dylan DeMelo can compare to Erik Karlsson in the immediate aftermath of the trade– and that’s accepting the fact that Josh Norris won’t even be of Karlsson’s caliber in his development.

    Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson fleeced the Senators once again this offseason months after acquiring Mike Hoffman and more in exchange for Mikkel Boedker and pieces.

    Wilson, of course, then flipped Hoffman to the Florida Panthers for three draft picks (a 2nd and 3rd in 2018 and a 2019 2nd round selection) going against Dorion’s “do not trade within the division policy”.

    For San Jose fans, this trade ranks up there with the Joe Thornton exchange with the Boston Bruins over a decade ago. In fact, perhaps this is the future of the organization at stake with Thornton, 39, turning 40 next summer and his playing days winding down.

    2018-19 might very well be his last shot at winning the Cup and Karlsson not only could be that bridge that gets him there, but rather, a bigger bridge that transcends eras in organization history (whereby Karlsson ends up making some of the cap dollars Thornton is currently raking in next season and beyond).

    In the meantime, Karlsson’s on the same blue line as Brent Burns now. Everybody watch out.

    For Senators fans, disappointment is an understatement. There might not even be any words to describe the aura right now in Ottawa.

  • St. Louis Blues 2018-2019 Season Preview

    St. Louis Blues

    44-32-6, 94 points, fifth in the Central Division

    Additions: C Tyler Bozak, F Brian Flynn, G Chad Johnson, D Joey LaLeggia, LW Patrick Maroon, D Niko Mikkola, F Jordan Nolan, F Ryan O’Reilly, W David Perron, D Tyler Wotherspoon

    Subtractions: RW Beau Bennett (signed with Dinamo Minsk, KHL), F Patrik Berglund (traded to BUF), C Kyle Brodziak (signed with EDM), G Carter Hutton (signed with BUF), D Petteri Lindbohm (signed with Lausanne, NL), C Wade Megan (signed with DET), F Vladimir Sobotka (traded to BUF), F Tage Thompson (traded to BUF)

    Offseason Analysis: The best metaphor for the Blues’ offseason just might be a fishing analogy.

    While there was certainly a big fish to be caught (for those still in the dark, Toronto signing C John Tavares is by far the catch of the summer), General Manager Doug Armstrong won the volume competition, as he cast a wide net and brought in at least four offensive additions that should see significant playing time this season.

    And that’s not to say Armstrong simply acquired anyone willing to move to the Gateway to the West. To continue our fishing analogy, Armstrong’s nets had large holes to grab only the biggest of names available this summer.

    Bozak and Perron represent St. Louis’ primary signings from the summer’s free agency frenzy. Bozak, a player coming off posting 11-32-43 totals in Toronto last season, and Perron, who scored 16-50-66 marks (by far a career-high in assists) with the Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights, were both signed on July 1 and would have represented an excellent offseason simply between themselves.

    Maroon, who has posted more than 40 points in both of his last two seasons, was signed nine days later to a one-year deal, but it was really the July 1 trade with the Sabres for O’Reilly that set the Blues apart and set such high expectations. For the price of two bottom-nine forwards, a prospect, and two draft picks (a first in 2019 and a second in 2021), the Blues added a legitimate top-six center that has posted at least 55 points in six of his last seven seasons (an injury limited his action to only 29 games in 2012-13).

    Fifty-five points, with his best being a 64-point effort in 2013-14? Aren’t expectations a little high that he’ll be the one to propel the Notes back into the playoffs?

    We need to remember that O’Reilly has only played for Colorado (2009-2015) and Buffalo (2015-2018) during his career – neither of which I would say were exactly abounding in talent during his tenures. Should he earn the role of starting center (as many expect he will) over F Brayden Schenn, he’ll be playing alongside one of the best right wings in the league in Vladimir Tarasenko and up-and-coming 26-year-old F Jaden Schwartz, who posted 14-21-35 totals in 30 games to open the season before suffering a lower-body injury that sidelined him for more than a month.

    If we’re looking for something that smells fishy, I’d sooner look to St. Louis’ goaltending situation. Far and away, the Notes’ best netminder last season was Hutton with his 17-7-3 record on a .931 save percentage and 2.09 GAA. Instead of resigning him, Armstrong allowed him to take his talents to the Queen City, leading to former Sabres goalie Johnson making his way to the Gateway City.

    With no new starter in sight (23-year-old G Ville Husso still needs more time in the AHL to develop), that means G Jake Allen (who just yesterday was reported to be struggling with back spasms that will keep him off the ice for much of training camp) will regain his starting job even though he managed only a 27-25-3 record on an abysmal .906 save percentage and 2.75 GAA last season.

    For at least the last two campaigns, Allen has made a horrendous habit of falling into cold streaks that extend longer than a month. In 19 appearances between December 12 and March 8 last season, Allen managed a terrible 2-14-0 record on a .897 save percentage and 3.17 GAA.

    For a team with aspirations as high as the Blues’, I’m surprised this issue was not given more attention to result in a better acquisition than Johnson. While the goalie free agent market was fairly lean, Armstrong showed he was willing to make a blockbuster trade when he made the O’Reilly deal. Instead, this entire season rests firmly on Allen’s shoulders, as his incredible defense (the Blues’ 29.7 shots allowed last season was best in the Western Conference) can do only so much before he has to make a save.

    Offseason Grade: B+

    There’s no doubt the Blues were unhappy missing the playoffs last season. However, while they certainly did more than enough to improve an attack that already boasted three 20-goal scorers (Tarasenko, Schenn and Schwartz), I have major concerns with Allen getting handed the reins after being arguably the biggest problem last season. If he can’t rise to the challenge and return to his 2015-2016 form that led the Notes to second in the Central Division (remember, G Brian Elliott was in net when that team went all the way to the Western Finals), all this offseason work was for naught.

    As a bonus interesting note, Perron has never signed a contract with any club other than the St. Louis Blues, even though he’s worn four other crests in his career and is embarking upon his third stint with the organization.

    I don’t know how important that is, but now you’ll have an answer if you’re ever posed with that trivia question at your local watering hole.

  • DTFR Podcast #123- 2018-19 Atlantic Division Season Preview

    DTFR Podcast #123- 2018-19 Atlantic Division Season Preview

    Nick, Colby and Connor talk the Max Pacioretty trade, Eugene Melnyk’s latest antics, John Tortorella’s extension, Adam McQuaid and Steve Yzerman stepping down in Tampa. Also in this episode– DTFR’s official 2018-19 Atlantic Division preview.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • Dallas Stars 2018-19 Season Preview

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    Dallas Stars

    42-32-8, 92 points, 6th in the Central Division

    Additions: Head Coach Jim Montgomery, F Blake Comeau, F Erik Condra, D Joel Hanley, G Anton Khudobin, F Michael Mersch, D Roman Polak

    Subtractions: Head Coach Ken Hitchcock (retired), D Andrew Bodnarchuk (signed, DEL), F Brian Flynn (signed with STL), D Dan Hamhuis (signed with NSH), G Mike McKenna (signed with OTT), F Curtis McKenzie (signed with VGK), D Greg Pateryn (signed with MIN), D Brent Regner (signed, Austria), F Antoine Roussel (signed with VAN)

    Still Unsigned: G Kari Lehtonen, D Andrew O’Brien, F Cole Ully

    Re-signed: G Philippe Desrosiers, F Jason Dickinson, F Remi Elie, D Dillon Heatherington, F Mattias Janmark, F Devin Shore, F Gemel Smith

    Offseason Analysis: After missing the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs by a few points, Ken Hitchcock finally hung up the pen and paper(?) behind the bench. Hitchcock’s one-year reunion with the Dallas Stars proved two things– that the Stars weren’t a playoff caliber roster in the long run and that Hitchcock’s coaching style had run its course in the contemporary NHL.

    Outside of John Klingberg and Marc Methot, Dallas’s defense didn’t scream high-caliber. Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov and Tyler Seguin alone couldn’t generate enough offense to ease the barrage of pucks Ben Bishop faced in net.

    Whatever the reasoning, the fact of the matter is the Stars didn’t have a complete team in 2017-18, so General Manager Jim Nill had some cracks to fix.

    First, Dallas brought in 49-year-old head coach, Jim Montgomery, out of the University of Denver and into the National Hockey League. Montgomery expects to bring a new-age pace to the Stars, but there’s always a catch– rookie NHL coaches rarely exceed expectations in their first season, especially if they’re coming from college hockey straight to the NHL level of the professional game.

    Second, Nill didn’t make any trades. Instead he opted to let Antoine Roussel and his 17 points in 73 games last season walk in free agency, along with Curtis McKenzie and other bottom-six role forwards. Also gone are Dan Hamhuis– once thought to be a steal from free agency not so long ago– and Greg Pateryn, who, after all things considered, played a durable bottom-pair worthy role on the Dallas blueline.

    Nill signed 32-year-old Roman Polak to a one-year, $1.300 million contract to appease veteran presence on the backend with a friendly short-term deal while the Stars look to implement Miro Heiskanen in the North American game.

    Blake Comeau, Erik Condra and Michael Mersch will all file down the line of bottom-six “glue guy” roles on the depth chart all the way to being a healthy scratch most nights– let alone emergency call-up go-tos.

    The fact of the matter is the Stars need to get younger and it could start with Heiskanen, but it should also include Jason Robertson among the forwards. Past that, there’s not much going on in the Big D.

    After Kari Lehtonen, 35, couldn’t hold his weight as a starter, Dallas brought in Ben Bishop– a surefire number one goalie– to lead them back to glory. Bishop’s year didn’t fully go as planned, but Lehtonen actually improved from 2016-17 to 2017-18 in his more limited role.

    Lehtonen’s 2.85 goals against average and .902 save percentage in 59 games played in 2016-17 dropped to a 2.56 GAA and rose to a .912 SV% in 37 appearances last season. The Atlanta Thrashers 2nd overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft rebounded quite nicely and is still unsigned.

    Meanwhile, Nill brought in Anton Khudobin, 32, most recently from the Boston Bruins on a two-year contract to become become Bishop’s backup. Khudobin’s can be streaky at times, but when he’s good, he’s great good. Just good.

    Case in point, Khudobin bounced back from a 2.64 GAA and .904 SV% in 16 appearances with the Bruins in 2016-17 while bouncing back-and-forth between Boston and Providence (AHL) to a 2.56 GAA and .913 SV% in 31 games last season with the Bruins.

    Khudobin’s GAA last season was the same as Lehtonen’s in six fewer games. He faced almost 100 fewer shots than Lehtonen and allowed seven fewer goals. His save percentage was .001% better than Lehtonen.

    If Nill’s getting really technical, he “improved” Dallas’s backup option. Sure he’s not paying a guy $5.900 million to play fewer than 40 games, but Khudobin’s making $2.500 million for… pretty much the same results if he’s playing well.

    If Lehtonen was going to re-sign, he surely was going to have to sign for much less than what he was making ($5.900 million) and wouldn’t have been able to capitalize as much as Khudobin did on his comeback (Khudobin more than doubled his salary from his last contract with Boston to his current one with Dallas).

    I mean, Lehtonen improved much like his former teammate with the Stars, Antti Niemi did, but without the immense failures in Pittsburgh and Florida before being picked up off waivers by the Montreal Canadiens.

    But enough about subprime goaltending, lack of offense and not enough drive from a mediocre defense outside of John Klingberg.

    The Stars aren’t on the rise and that should concern fans deeply.

    You see, there’s another guy wearing No. 91 in the NHL that’s a pending-UFA in July 2019 and nearly every armchair GM has already set their sights on him. His name is Tyler Seguin and he’s Dallas’s biggest star.

    After talking about an extension before the 2018 NHL Draft– conveniently held in Dallas– Seguin’s heard nothing from the Stars front office. Another season without a postseason might just be enough to push the 26-year-old center over the edge and into the waters of free agency next summer.

    Offseason Grade: D+

    There’s areas of concern that go further than just shaking things up behind the bench in Dallas. It’s not that Montgomery won’t be a great coach, but rather that Nill hasn’t pulled off the necessary moves with the roster to really set them over the bar and into the playoffs.

    Betting on other teams regressing to the mean, while counting on your stars to perform better than they did last season isn’t safe if you’re not actually improving. Plus there’s the whole “they might lose Tyler Seguin for nothing next offseason a la the New York Islanders and John Tavares“. First impressions for the future are everything, and Nill and the Stars aren’t sending the right one(s).

  • New York Islanders Season preview

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    New York Islanders

    35-37-10, 80 points, 7th in the Metropolitan Division

    Additions: Valtteri Filppula, Leo Komarov, Lou Lamoriello, Robin Lehner, Matt Martin

    Subtractions: Jason Chimera, Calvin de Haan, Jaroslav Halak, Shane Prince,Dennis Seidenberg (though he signed a PTO with the Islanders, so…), John Tavares

    Offseason Analysis: The New York Islanders were in the spotlight as soon as the offseason began. What would John Tavares do? Would he re-sign? Where would he land?

    The Islanders knew changes would need to be made to stand a chance at keeping their franchise player. They started by bringing the well-experienced Lou Lamoriello as General Manager to try and fix things. But Lamoriello can’t fix everything and it wasn’t too shocking to see Tavares find a new home with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

    So what now? How do you replace your franchise player?

    Short answer, you don’t.

    Lamoriello started planning and made a trade to acquire Matt Martin from his former employer. He continued to try and toughen the team up by adding Leo Komarov and Valtteri Filppula. Neither of them are flashy and they will grind to make plays and can pop in some goals.

    The question mark addition is the addition of Robin Lehner. It’s unclear if Lehner or Thomas Greiss will be the starting goalie. As a Sabres fan, I understand Lehner is not a number one goalie. If New York plans on using him as their starting netminder behind an inexperienced team– they could be in trouble.

    A lot of this season rides on the shoulders of Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier. The two of them had a strong season last year, but with Tavares gone they’ll be in charge of carrying the load this year.

    Offseason Grade: C-

    It doesn’t look good for the Islanders this season.

    They may need to take a few seasons to get some decent draft picks, then push for playoffs again. Lamoriello has a proven track record with rebuilds, as he turned the Maple Leafs around in a few seasons.

    That may be the best option for Islanders going forward.

    Overall the offseason wasn’t good for the Islanders but Lamoriello brought in pieces to prepare for a rebuild.

  • DTFR Podcast #122- 2018-19 Central Division Season Preview

    DTFR Podcast #122- 2018-19 Central Division Season Preview

    It’s the DTFR Podcast’s official season preview for all things Central Division in 2018-19 as Nick and Connor embark on season five of the show…

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #121- Four-Year Vets

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #121- Four-Year Vets

    Nick and Connor celebrate the conclusion of the fourth season of the podcast, talk jerseys and logos from the week, the Edmonton Oilers defense and rank the best division by goaltenders.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #120- Obscurity Into Oblivion

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #120- Obscurity Into Oblivion

    Nick, Pete and Cap’n compiled rosters of seemingly obscure NHL players from ~2000 through the lockout shortened 2012-13 season.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #118- Bad Puns

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #118- Bad Puns

    The Original Trio analyze the Jeff Skinner trade, recent one year extensions, upcoming jersey retirement nights, 2018-19 Calder Memorial Trophy predictions and more.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #117- Lemieux Bed and Breakfast

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #117- Lemieux Bed and Breakfast

    Nick and Connor present yet another offseason episode while just about every other hockey podcast has gone off to their cottage on the lake. This week: Tom Wilson’s extension, Mario Lemieux’s summer home, Tyler Seguin, third jerseys so far and should teams wear white at home?

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify.