Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.
• Corey Perry reflects on his career after reaching the 1,000-game mark Wednesday night. [NHL.com]
• The power play has garnered a lot of attention, but the Penguins’ penalty kill has been outstanding. [Pensburgh]
• Meanwhile, the Sabres’ PK is just not working. [Buffalo News]
• Meet Emilie Castonguay, the NHL’s rare female agent who has top draft prospect Alexis Lafreniere as a client. [USA Today]
• Wild GM Bill Guerin is staying patient…for now. [Pioneer Press]
• “In a notice of civil claim filed with the B.C. Supreme Court on Oct. 22, Jason Garrison claimed his advisors failed to take his circumstances into account while selling him expensive policies he did not need.” [Surrey Now Leader]
The New Jersey Devils and Taylor Hall will continue discussions for a new contract while the team is in Calgary for a game against the Flames Thursday
During a Wednesday appearance on NBCSN, NHL Insider Darren Dreger reported that Hall’s agent, Darren Ferris, made the trip to Calgary to begin negotiations. Dreger did mention that the public should not read too much into the meeting as both sides have had an open dialogue for quite some time.
Dreger went on to say that until this point, there hasn’t been meaningful talk around the parameters of a contract extension. Hall, 27, is in the final year of his deal and will reach unrestricted free agency on July 1, 2020 if he remains unsigned.
The Devils originally acquired Hall in the summer of 2016 when they shipped defenseman Adam Larsson to Edmonton in a one-for-one swap. Hall went on to win the 2018 Hart Trophy as a member of the Devils.
Byfuglien Update
Dreger mentioned that there is no definitive timeline on Dustin Byfuglien’s recovery from surgery and that it could be anywhere from three to four months. The bruising defenseman remains suspended, but Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is stuck in a holding pattern due to salary cap implications if Byfuglien were to return.
If Byfuglien’s camp files a grievance to recoup some of the lost salary, then a complicated situation could become problematic in Winnipeg.
Rebuild in Detroit
The painful start to the season for the Detroit Red Wings might be just the beginning of an excruciating process.
Dreger mentioned during the first intermission on Wednesday Night Hockey that Steve Yzerman’s goal is to draft in premium positions in at least two, maybe three straight seasons. The top priority for the Wings organization will be to scout in both North America and overseas.
The plan is to build a strong foundation through the draft to set the organization on the right path for long-term success.
Rangers willing to listen
As for the Rangers, Jeff Gorton made several attempts to speed up the rebuild this summer when he acquired Jacob Trouba, signed Artemi Panarin and drafted Kappo Kaako. However, the message Gorton is sending to the New York fanbase is patience, according to Dreger.
Additionally, Dreger mentioned that the Rangers will not necessarily be aggressive this season on the trade market, but they are willing to listen if the right ‘hockey deal’ comes along and makes sense in regards to their long-term plan. The franchise wants to create a healthy environment for its young talent to develop in and eventually prosper.
Flyers’ Couturier pulled off ‘The Forsberg’ move in shootout
Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier does just about everything well, hockey-wise. One of these years, you’d expect him to win a Selke.
But you don’t necessarily think of Couturier as a shootout wizard. Don’t get me wrong, he’s perfectly passable in that area, yet it was surprising to see him pull off the patented, stamp-worthy move of former Flyer Peter Forsberg to help Philly beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 via that shootout.
You can watch Couturier’s version of “The Forsberg” in the video above this post’s headline.
It wasn’t the only notable goal from a fairly busy game, either, as Taylor Hall showed that he’s putting a great effort out there — even if the team results haven’t come through — by scoring a goal after being hit from behind:
Two New Jersey Devils items of note on this Friday:
Goaltending has been an issue for New Jersey lately, which isn’t too much of a shock considering the fact that they deployed a moderately intriguing but undeniable goalie in Mackenzie Blackwood, and dramatically fading would-be starter Cory Schneider.
With that in mind, the Devils sent a 2021 conditional seventh-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for depth goalie Louis Domingue. Here are those somewhat amusingly specific conditions:
1) Domingue plays in seven NHL regular-season games for the New Jersey Devils during the 2019-2020 NHL regular season; or
2) Domingue plays in one NHL playoff game for the New Jersey Devils during the 2020 NHL playoffs; or
3) Domingue is traded by the New Jersey Devils prior to the start of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
The team noted that Domingue, 27, will report to New Jersey’s affiliate.
That makes sense as a start, but with how poorly things have been going in the Devils’ net, New Jersey should be open-minded to giving Domingue a shot. He fared reasonably well last season for Tampa Bay (21-5-0, albeit with an unspectacular .908 save percentage), and managed a downright solid .914 save percentage for the Lightning after being traded from the Arizona Coyotes in 2017-18.
Not mind-blowing, but considering Schneider’s .847 save percentage and Blackwood’s not-much-better .871 mark heading into Friday’s game against the Flyers, any improvement could be a pretty big deal for a Devils team that could sure use some optimism, what with Taylor Hall giving emo/screamo quotes recently.
While Kyle Palmieri probably lost the decision in what was admittedly not a spectacular fight, many gave him some kudos for sticking up for Jack Hughes during Friday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The top overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft could spend his entire career undersized, but that might be especially true now, as he made that immediate jump to the big time. With that in mind, it’s helpful for Palmieri to show that he has Hughes’ back. Even when the hits aren’t necessarily dirty. I’m not sure if there was much/anything wrong with that hit by Matt Niskanen, but considering Hughes’ helmet flying off, I don’t think his Devils teammate was really making the mental calculations to decide that it was a textbook check.
That said, I won’t deny that, in most cases, Palmieri’s better off using his hands to score sweet goals than throw punches.
At the moment, it seems like Hughes and Palmieri shook off whatever they took from their exchanges with Niskanen, which makes for the best news of all for the Devils.
Choosing from the teams off to strong starts in October, which one won’t last?
SEAN: The Canucks may very well wind up in the playoffs come April, but it feels like a matter or time before they slowly slide back into the wild card race and out of contention for the Pacific Division crown. The Lotto Line of Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller has been unstoppable; Quinn Hughes is playing himself into the Calder Trophy conversation after one month; and the goaltending duo of Thatcher Demko and Jacob Markstrom has been solid with a combined .932 even strength save percentage. They’re banking important points this early in the season, but their 103 PDO will certainly slide back a touch.
Vancouver’s November schedule could pose some difficulty in keeping up this pace with games against the Avalanche (2), Penguins, Oilers, Blues, Predators (2), and Capitals. If they can reach December and find themselves still in one of the top three spots in the Pacific then that could go a long way toward proving doubters they’re for real.
JAMES: The Sabres [1.036] and Canucks [1.031] are marinating in that glorious, glorious PDO right now, and chances are, both will see their hot shooting and goaltending cool down. The question is: how much?
Considering the Canucks’ weak division, and quite a few promising underlying numbers for Vancouver, I think they might be able to squeak into a playoff spot. The Sabres, however, must run through what still figures to be a buzzsaw in the Atlantic — at least if the Lightning and Maple Leafs get their acts together.
So, Buffalo, in particular, falls under “Fool me once …” That said, I can’t totally blame someone who’s being lured in by the gravitational pull of that strong start.
ADAM: The skepticism around Buffalo is legitimate because of the way last year unfolded, but I still think they have a better shot to stick around this year because they are a little deeper and do not seem to be doing it with as much smoke and mirrors as they did early last season. What that means, I don’t know. That is still a brutally tough division and you have to imagine Tampa Bay and Toronto get their acts together. They may not finish high in the standings, but I don’t see a collapse here. The team that I think is still likely to fall off has to be the Oilers, and I hate saying that because Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are so amazing. I want to see them on a big stage. But they are literally carrying the offense again, and we have seen this movie before. They are great enough to do it in short bursts to help the team go on some hot streaks, but no two players are great enough to carry a team through an 82-game season unless one of those players is a goalie. There are still just too many flaws on this roster.
JOEY: I’m still skeptical about the Oilers. Yes, they have the high-end talent that most teams can only dream of, but I’m just not sold on the supporting cast. Is James Neal going to keep rolling? Are the other forwards going to do enough scoring to sustain Edmonton’s place in the standings? Can a duo of Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen keep Edmonton in games? I have so many questions for this team it’s not even funny. Look, the Oilers probably won’t finish first in the division, but if they sneak into the playoffs that fan base should be happy with that. I just have a hard time seeing it right now.
SCOTT: The Ducks are 8-6-0 and I am not sure if that qualifies as a ‘hot start’, but I expect them to drop quite a bit the standings. The Flames and Sharks are too talented to remain near the bottom of the division and if they move up, someone has to slide down. Another team to keep an eye on is the Blues. With Vladimir Tarasenko sidelined for an extended period of time, will they be able to generate enough offense to remain competitive in a ferocious Central Division.
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Who is your biggest disappointment — player or team — so far?
SEAN: This could have been noted goon Aleksander Barkov, who has four penalty minutes already after not picking up his second minor last season until March 7… but my choice is the Lightning. Tampa is facing the adversity they noted after-the-fact last season hurt them in Round 1 against the Blue Jackets. A sluggish October that saw them win consecutive games only once, allow two or fewer goals only three times, and allow 3.5 goals (2.7 GPG last season) and three more shots on average per night has led them to a 6-4-2 start.
The challenge is clear for the Lightning: It’s Stanley Cup or bust. We’re going to see who the real Lightning are this season. They cruised for 82 games in 2018-19, and now the teams around them have improved. There wasn’t a lot to remember in October and how they respond will be an indicator of what to expect later in the season.
JAMES: The Sharks are a disaster by just about every measure to begin 2019-20. They’re sinking when it comes to most, if not all, possession stats. About the only thing that’s encouraging is that, unlike the bumbling Bolts, San Jose’s been mostly unlucky. While I fear that their goaltending will only rebound in marginal ways, I don’t expect their offense to remain so toothless.
ADAM: It has to be San Jose. Their commitment to the goalie situation just totally stuns me, but what is even more shocking is the fact the rest of the team seems to have forgotten how to play hockey this season. They are getting completely dominated at even-strength and this team is just far too talented to play like this. No team with Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns on the blue line, and with the talent they still have at forward (even after losing Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi over the summer) should be playing this poorly. It is stunning.
JOEY: I realized that the Sharks were getting old in a hurry, but I didn’t expect them to have four wins in their first 13 games. The loss of Joe Pavelski has hit both sides pretty hard. Do you think the player and team would like a do-over there? Logan Couture is a fine captain, but he’s already had to call his teammates out a couple of times. Adding Patrick Marleau is a nice touch, but it just isn’t adding up to victories right now. The Sharks should be worried because it looks like their championship window has been slammed shut.
SCOTT: In Taylor Hall’s final season before reaching unrestricted free agency, GM Ray Shero made a couple of maneuvers this summer to help bolster his roster. With the additions of P.K. Subban, Nikita Gusev, Wayne Simmonds and Jack Hughes, the Devils hoped to take advantage of a wide-open Metropolitan Division. However, the Devils have failed to protect leads, especially at home and find themselves competing for the top draft pick once again. Coach John Hynes could be the first coach to join the unemployment line if the Devils can’t figure it out on the ice.
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HART SEAN: David Pastrnak JAMES: David Pastrnak ADAM: Leon Draisaitl JOEY: Sidney Crosby SCOTT: Leon Draisaitl
