ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — The NHL questioned the Washington Capitals about re-signing Brooks Orpik after trading him to Colorado and cleared the Stanley Cup champions of any wrongdoing.
General manager Brian MacLellan said the league questioned the Capitals for trading the veteran defenseman and then bringing him back at a cheaper salary after the Avalanche bought him out. MacLellan said the Capitals were above board in everything they did and would face no consequences.
”They put us through a thorough questioning,” MacLellan said Friday. ”We did everything above board, and we answered the questions honestly. There was no repercussions, so I think we’re good.”
In an email to The Associated Press, deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed MacLellan’s assessment that the league investigated Washington and found nothing to be amiss with Orpik’s situation.
At the draft in June, the Capitals traded Orpik and backup goaltender Philipp Grubuaer to Colorado for a second-round pick, a move made largely to clear salary-cap space. Avalanche GM Joe Sakic said almost immediately after the trade that he’d be buying out the final season of Orpik’s deal that carried a salary of $4.5 million and a cap hit of $5.5 million.
Orpik signed with the Capitals about a month later, a one-year deal worth $1 million with $500,000 in incentives. If the 37-year-old defenseman reaches those incentives, he’ll combine to make the same amount he would have if he weren’t bought out.
MacLellan assumed some rival teams wondered about the Capitals’ handling of the situation but was never worried that they broke any rules. A team isn’t allowed to re-sign a player after buying him out, but because Colorado went through that process, Washington signing Orpik was legal.
”We did everything by the book,” MacLellan said. ”We did everything straight.”
DENVER (AP) — Heading into last season, the theme was a ”something-to-prove” refrain from captain Gabriel Landeskog and the Colorado Avalanche.
This season, it’s more of a ”need-to-be-respected” tune.
The Avs caught a lot of teams by surprise a season ago when they improved by 47 points to make the postseason. They know they won’t be catching anyone off guard this time around. They also know they have the speed, youth and the scoring skills of Nathan MacKinnon to help them make another playoff appearance.
”We can’t sell ourselves short,” said Landeskog, whose team kicked off training camp this week. ”We have to make sure we come in with some swagger. We know what we accomplished last year, getting to the playoffs, and how there weren’t a whole lot of people who thought we’d do that. We have to remember how much hard work we put into that and know we aren’t going to catch anybody sleeping.
”Everybody knows we’re a good team and here to stay.”
Colorado’s roster looks similar to a season ago, with a couple of tweaks. The team added more of a veteran presence with left wing Matt Calvert and defenseman Ian Cole. They also traded with Washington to acquire goaltender Philipp Grubauer as an insurance policy in case the injury-plagued Semyon Varlamov gets hurt.
A return trip to the playoffs won’t be easy – the Central Division is stacked with Stanley Cup contenders.
”Are we one of them?” Landeskog quickly added.
”It’s important to realize there’s a difference between being confident and being cocky,” said Landeskog, whose team lost in six games to Nashville during the first round last April. ”We have to make sure we’re confident and have that swagger, but not thinking we’re better than we are, either.”
Not an issue.
They still remember 2016-17, when they accumulated a league-low 48 points. They rebounded to 95 points last season, making the postseason on the final day by beating St. Louis 5-2 in a winner-take-all showdown.
”Last year we had something to prove and had a chip on our shoulder,” defenseman Tyson Barrie said. ”That worked well for us. Not a lot of people expected much out of us. It felt really good to prove them wrong.”
Colorado was one of the youngest teams in the league last season, with 11 different rookies dressing. They brought energy to an already speedy team.
”That injection of young guys coming in, really enthusiastic and excited to play, really rubbed off on a lot of guys,” Landeskog said. ”It showed in the way we played. We’re still young, and it’s just a matter of taking that next step.”
MacKinnon is coming off a monster season in which he had 97 points (39 goals, 58 assists). It was the most points by an Avalanche player since Hall of Famer turned general manager Joe Sakic had 100 in 2006-07.
MacKinnon wants to elevate his game to an even higher level.
”I’m trying to be the best me, and hopefully that’s the best player in the NHL,” said MacKinnon, the top pick in the 2013 draft. ”I’m doing everything I can to get better.”
Varlamov was solid in net for the Avalanche, before suffering a knee injury against Chicago on March 30 and missing the rest of the season, including the playoffs. He’s healthy again and ready to contend with Grubauer for playing time.
”Every year is a big, big year,” Varlamov said. ”Every year you try to improve yourself.”
Grubauer, who is coming off a Stanley Cup win with the Capitals, was asked how many games he hopes to start.
”I want to play every one,” he cracked. ”I’m really stoked to be here. I think there are big things coming up here.
”The team is really young and that makes it really exciting for everybody. In Washington, the last couple of years, we learned from our mistakes. You saw it a couple seasons ago – Colorado wasn’t the best and then the next season they took off. We’ve got to build on that from last year, for sure.”
September is here and opening night of the 2018-19 NHL season is three weeks away, which means everything resets. What happened last season doesn’t matter and players’ sole focus now is to try and look forward and either build off 2017-18 or completely forget it in some cases.
At the NHL Player Media Tour in Chicago last week, Pro Hockey Talk spoke to four players who enter this season coming off career years offensively. We wanted to know from them why it all came together last season.
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers: 34 goals, 68 assists, 102 points
A huge reason why Giroux had the year that he did was that he was attached to the hip of Sean Couturier. Moving to the wing, the Flyers captain spent over 80 percent of his time at even strength with Couturier, per Dobber Hockey, which resulted in both forwards posting offensive bests.
“I think it was a little bit of everything,” he said. “Being able to go on the wing and have a new position… at first I was a little uncomfortable, but after a few preseason games and regular season games you get in a rhythm. Being able to play with Coots, he’s a very smart player. We just had that chemistry going.”
Taylor Hall, New Jersey Devils: 39 goals, 54 assists, 93 points
The Devils returned to the postseason for the first time in six years, thanks heavily in part to Hall carrying the team on his back during the second half. Fully comfortable in his new settings, the 26-year-old forward recorded points on a regular basis, with his play resulting in the franchise being able to tout its first Hart Trophy winner.
A newfound partnership with the 2017 No. 1 overall pick helped and there was likely some motivation to continue sticking it to the Edmonton Oilers’ brass, who dealt him away in a surprise trade in 2016 — a decision that Hall said made him feel “slighted.”
“We added a lot more talent to our team and we became a team that really played fast and really played tenacious,” Hall said last week. “I think that my game meshed perfectly with the team and [I] found some really good chemistry with Nico [Hischier] and then from there, I don’t know if a 26-game point streak is ever going to happen again. It was just one of those things that happened. As far as being a successful player, a successful offensive player, I have no doubt that I can do that [this season] for the Devils. I’m excited to see what happens.”
When you’re good friends with Sidney Crosby and spend your summers working out with one of the NHL’s best, you tend to pick up a thing or two. For MacKinnon, it was only a matter of time before he took the next step in his development following back-to-back 50-point seasons. With some better talent around him on a line with Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, 2018-19 was his year.
It all paid off as MacKinnon finished second in the Hart voting behind Hall as he helped the Avalanche back into the postseason.
“Experience. Just being my fifth year in the league, I got more comfortable with myself and my game,” he said. “It was all mental. I might have gotten a little bit better with my physical tools but nothing too drastic for the jump ahead. It was more mental.”
Vincent Trocheck, Florida Panthers: 31 goals, 44 assists, 75 points
The one constant for Trocheck for most of last season was Jonathan Huberdeau, who would score 27 goals. Spending a lot of time next to Huberdeau, Trocheck would take advantage of a bump in ice time and not pass up many opportunities to shoot en route to personal bests offensively.
The Pittsburgh native would also make good use of power play time, leading the team with 13 PPGs and 27 points with the man advantage.
“There was a lot of opportunity last year. I think a lot of it has to do with that,” Trocheck said. “The way the team was playing the first half of the year, I kind of had to take the onus on myself to take that extra step. And there’s a few of us, [Aleksander] Barkov, Huberdeau, guys like that, who stepped it up as well offensively. It was just a matter of clicking with each other, and I think there was a lot more chemistry.”
CHICAGO — After six years away, James van Riemsdyk returns to the Philadelphia Flyers after inking a five-year, $35 million contract on July 1. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft spent three seasons with the team before being part a trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs that sent defenseman Luke Schenn to the Flyers.
So when it became clear that the Maple Leafs wouldn’t be re-signing the 29-year-old winger, a reunion was in the offing. In making that happen, Flyers captain Claude Giroux and fellow forward Jake Voracek put in some calls to their former teammate, hoping to lure him back.
“Didn’t really try and sell him on anything, to be honest,” said Giroux. “Was just trying to see what he thought. He had some questions about the organization and the team and the players. I was just honest with him. I told him how I really feel. I think he liked that and we were able to get him. I think he’s very excited to come back to Philly and so are we.”
van Riemsdyk scored a career high 36 goals last season and has developed into a dangerous presence in front of goal, especially on the power play He’s already comfortable playing in Philadelphia and can possibly rekindle some chemistry with Giroux depending on how head coach Dave Hakstol juggles his lines.
Coming off a season where a number of young players took steps forward and the captain had a career season, the Flyers and Giroux can’t help but be excited by the addition.
“He’s a great player in front of the net — could be on the power play or 5-on-5,” he said. “He’s a very smart hockey player. He’s a great competitor. I’ve seen him play in the playoffs and dominate a hockey game against Boston. I was very impressed. We know and he knows he has that in him and for him to come in and help us out, it’s very motivating.”
It’s been a bit of a busy summer for the New York Islanders. They have a new head coach, a new general manager, and lost their captain in free agency. As Lou Lamoriello took over for Garth Snow, he’s done work to try and improve upon last season’s playoff-less spring.
A number of players are entering the final year of their deals, like Anders Lee. His agent hasn’t started negotiations with Lamoriello on an extension, but the 40-goal scorer understands why talks haven’t commenced just yet.
“They’ve been in contact. They’ve worked together before,” he said. “I think everyone knows we just have other things he has to worry about right now.”
One of those ‘things’ is getting new head coach Barry Trotz settled with his new team. After being unable to come to terms on an extension after winning the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals, they parted ways and three days later he was hired by the Islanders.
Trotz’s ability to develop a winning culture is something that has Lee very excited for the season.
“Barry’s resume speaks for itself,” he said. “Where he’s been with Nashville and Washington and where he’s taken his teams, obviously winning the Stanley Cup last year is the ultimate goal and he’s done that. His experiences and who is he as a person, from what I’ve been told, I think is going to be great for us.”
McDavid felt weight of the ‘C’
In Connor McDavid’s first season as captain of the Edmonton Oilers, they made the playoffs. There was a sense of a arrival and that with an elite level talent like McDavid, the good times finally returned.
But last season was a disaster. As McDavid played out of his mind, the Oilers won 11 fewer games and dipped 25 points from the 2016-17 season. It wasn’t just a step back, it was a plunge back to the bottom.
As the season quickly slipped from their grasp, McDavid felt the crushing disappointment.
“I think anytime you’ve got a team that doesn’t make the playoffs the captain always feels it. Everyone feels it,” said McDavid. “It doesn’t matter who you are on the team. That’s the point of the team. When you do wear the ‘C’ you feel a lot of responsibility. You take a lot on yourself. You think that there’s some sort of magic thing that needs to be said or some sort of magic thing that needs to be done, but ultimately it’s all about the team.”
This summer general manager Peter Chiarelli didn’t make any drastic changes to his roster. Tobias Rieder and Kyle Brodziak were brought in and defenseman Evan Bouchard was drafted No. 10 overall. The lack of change has the feeling that it’ll be another rough year in Edmonton. Just don’t tell that to McDavid.
“It’s kind of always been said if Peter could make a move he was going to and obviously nothing came up and that’s what we wanted, honestly,” he said. “I think everyone in the locker room believes in each other. We believe that we’re going to be a good team.”
Jack Eichel’s leadership lessons from Brian Gionta
It’s been two full seasons since the Buffalo Sabres have had a captain, but it’s a good bet that the 21-year-old Eichel will be donning the ‘C’ on a regular basis pretty soon. Taking on an extra responsibility like that won’t make the young center change anything about himself, however.
“It’s obviously a huge honor if that ever happened,” said Eichel. “There’s some good leaders on the team and there’s a good leadership group. There’s a lot of guys to rely on that make it easy for you to lead.
“For me, it’s more or less just not changing. ‘C,’ no ‘C,’ ‘A,’ whatever. Try and be yourself, do what you do. That’s the mindset I try and take anywhere I go. Whatever I’ve done to get to my spot now, just try to be myself. Be the personality I have. But you get that obviously there’s more responsibility. You’ve got to continue to handle yourself the right way. [It’d be a] huge honor. There’s a lot of deserving guys, but it’d be cool.”
The Sabres last captain was Brian Gionta, who was there as Eichel entered the NHL in 2015. The way the veteran forward handled himself left an impression on the franchise’s young star — something that could be useful if he’s to succeed Gionta in the leadership role.
“The biggest thing with Gio was his professionalism,” Eichel said. “Gio’s the type of guy who was at the rink early every morning, he had his routine. He knew what he needed to do to prepare for practice, prepare for games, and he did every day, no matter what. Whether it was February or August or October, whatever it was, he was going to do his routine every day and prepare the same way. Big game, practice, morning skate, he prepared like a pro.
“I was able to learn a lot about preparation, getting yourself ready, getting your body ready, doing the right things in order to be at your best.”
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SHORT SHIFTS
“Begrudgingly. They brought in a BC assistant coach, so it evens out.” – A joking New York Rangers forward and Boston College alum Chris Kreider on if he’ll be able to play for a Boston University product in David Quinn.
“It’s tough. It’s really intense. I think the biggest thing I never really understood was how much of a mental battle it is, how intense it is. You think about every little play after a game, what you could have done better, what you wish you would have done. The mental battle is something I learned a lot about something that I’m definitely better off for [experiencing].” – Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele on what he learned during the grind to reach the Western Conference Final last season.
“No, absolutely not. I think that’s the worst thing I can do. I just have to play my game and yeah, I’d like to score more and create more offense, but you also have to be good defensively.” – Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings on if he’ll change anything should he be given added responsibility in the absence of captain Henrik Zetterberg.
“I think our young guys are going to keep getting better and better. [Alex] Kerfoot, [Tyson] Jost, [J.T.] Compher, all those guys are just going to continue to develop. That’s kind of like adding players when those guys get better, it’s like adding scoring. The three of us — [Gabriel] Landeskog, me and [Mikko] Rantanen — are going to have to be really good this year. I think our goalies are set. We have [Philipp] Grubauer and [Semyon] Varlamov — that’s a great 1-2. We feel good. It’s going to be a tough division, the Central, but we’re ready.” – Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche on improvements for this season.
“He’s very repetitive with what he believes in and the system that he follows. He started at the beginning of the season with what he wanted us to do and what he wanted in our organization. He was very adamant on continuing to tell us what he wanted. He didn’t stray off if we didn’t listen, saying right away he would make sure he would beat it into us. Very intense, but at the same time very laid back guy. It’s tough to explain. He’s an awesome guy, easy to talk to and very serious when it comes to the game of hockey. He’s just your typical hard-nosed [coach], like he played; he’s that kind of coach. He’s extremely intense and his love for the game and his want to win and hate to lose attitude makes you want to win for him and have that same attitude.” – Vincent Trocheck on Florida Panthers head coach Bob Boughner.
In most cases, an NHL team hands out a PTO to a player for a reason: their services aren’t in very high demand.
Usually, that’s because said player doesn’t really bring a ton to the table. Sometimes the deficit is more on the evaluators, though, as some good players have had to deal with reluctant buyers. Maybe a veteran isn’t done yet. Perhaps a younger player simply didn’t receive fair opportunities. After all, the Golden Knights showed that one team’s player who didn’t need to be protected could turn into another team’s key, difference-making performers.
Heading into training camps this time around, there could be some diamonds in the rough … or at least players who are good enough to help a team in a depth role. Let’s take a look at PTO situations to gauge who has a chance, who should get a look even if they fall short, and so on.
Mark Letestu (pictured), Florida Panthers
Just about every year, there is a player who’s surprisingly needing to accept a PTO. Letestu is that candidate this time around.
Letestu’s a versatile player who can score a bit, keep his head above water in tough assignments, and win faceoffs at a nice clip. He might not be perfect, but it’s hard to imagine him not making sense as, at worst, a 13th forward somewhere.
One cannot help but wonder if Florida might struggle to find a spot for him, though. Cap Friendly lists 15 forwards, and while I’d personally take Letestu instead of Micheal Haley and Troy Brouwer without flinching, those guys have contracts. Owen Tippett could also barge into the argument and take a spot as well.
#FlaPanthers current potential bottom-six forward crop for 2018-19:
Again, Letestu should be in the NHL in 2018-19, it just might not be with Florida.
Emerson Etem, Los Angeles Kings
If nothing else, Los Angeles could use Etem’s speed. Etem also ranks as a feel-good story, as landing a tryout with the Kings brings back memories of the California native drawing cheers in L.A. during the 2010 NHL Draft.
Good times:
Despite the Kings’ limited depth talent, there are quite a few obstacles in the way of Etem landing a legitimate spot. If it comes down to Etem or, say, Gabriel Vilardi, the smart money is on Vilardi. Maybe he’d beat out a lower-end forward if all things are equal, but those players have guaranteed contracts. Los Angeles’ cap crunch – The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman notes that the Kings may only carry 13 instead of 14 forwards – doesn’t necessarily help Etem, even if he’d likely come at a low cost.
Perhaps a two-way contract would work for Etem and the Kings if he impresses during his PTO? Etem spent last season between the AHL and Swiss league, anyway, so it might not be such a bad deal. From the Kings’ perspective, they’d have an experienced player who they can call up
Jeff Glass (unofficial), Calgary Flames
Let’s group the feel-good stories together.
At age 32, Jeff Glass finally got a chance to play in the NHL, and ran with that opportunity early on. Now he gets to try out for the team he grew up rooting for, as Sportsnet’s Eric Francis notes, although the Flames haven’t announced the PTO officially yet.
“When I was a kid my dad would get tickets from work once or twice a year so I have fond memories of watching them play at the Saddledome,” Glass said, via Francis. “I grew up idolizing Trevor Kidd. Him and Rick Tabaracci were the Flames goalies when I was young and I got to go to his goalie schools here in town. Kidd was the man. He had the cool gear – I loved everything about him.
“It’s kind of cool wearing the Flames jersey. What a small world.”
The Flames might be bringing Glass in mainly because they’ll want extra goalies available considering their preseason trip to China. He’ll need to defy the odds to hurdle the Flames collection of young backup hopefuls: Jon Gillies, David Rittich, and Tyler Parsons. At least he’s used to being a long shot.
Jason Garrison and Scottie Upshall, Edmonton Oilers
With Andrej Sekera out for the season, it makes some sense for the Oilers to give Garrison a look, although I’d be much more interested in KHL-bound Cody Franson.
Garrison’s already battling with depth defensemen Jakub Jerabek and Kevin Gravel, and don’t count out Evan Bouchard. Garrison’s big shot could be useful on the power play – that might be his primary theoretical use at this point in his career, as he’s a far cry from the nice player he once was – so Bouchard’s offensive skills could make Garrison that much more redundant.
The Oilers … march to the beat of their own drum (yeah, let’s put it that way) when it comes to assessing talent, but even Edmonton will expect better from Garrison than what he did in an admittedly small sample of eight games with Vegas:
#Oilers have signed Jason Garrison to a PTO. Using the "Roman Polak Standard"™, I am perplexed why they even… nvm. pic.twitter.com/Lvisubjxf1
Aside from quibbling about who they’re taking a look at, you can’t really fault Edmonton for checking.
You also couldn’t fault Garrison for picking fellow PTO Scottie Upshall’s brain about acing a tryout. After all, as Connor McDavidnoted, the dude knows how to earn a spot even if he can’t seem to get a traditional contract offer.
Personally, Upshall seems like a more appealing addition than Garrison. Upshall seems reasonably useful in a fourth-line capacity, even when taking on far from glamorous assignments (St. Louis had him start 30.8-percent of his shifts in the attacking zone last season, and a ludicrously low 22.3-percent in 2016-17). He’s generally regarded as a pretty solid skater.
It wouldn’t be shocking if it came down to Upshall or Kailer Yamamoto, a player who almost feels like the exact opposite of Upshall: he’s an exceedingly young, offense-leaning, small-ish forward who didn’t burn a year off of his rookie deal yet. Upshall vs. Yamamoto/other depth forwards should be interesting to watch, and perhaps an opposing team might scoop up the veteran if Upshall doesn’t make the cut?
Simon Despres, Montreal Canadiens
Somewhat like Etem, Despres is a still-young, former late-first-rounder now trying to claw back into the league.
The 26-year-old defenseman currently stands as a sad “What if?” question, as the concussion he suffered from a Tyson Barrie hit set Despres’ career back:
Can he earn a spot on a sputtering Montreal team? Well, the roster is loaded with defensemen – even if it’s quantity over quality – so that is a pretty tall task. The Habs love hoarding former first-rounders, though, so a two-way contract might not be the worst option for both sides. Training camp/preseason games might not provide sufficient opportunities for Despres to show that he can still be viable at the NHL level.
Mark Fayne and Marcel Noebels, Boston Bruins
Fayne has 389 regular-season games of NHL experience, showing promise at times during his Devils days. Still, he bombed with Edmonton, to the point that his last NHL reps came in 2016-17, when he only suited up for four games. His AHL numbers aren’t going to generate much demand.
Noebels is a 26-year-old forward who hasn’t appeared in an NHL game yet, spending the last few years in Germany playing for the Berlin Polar Bears. He did go in the fourth round (118th overall by Philly) in 2011, for what that’s worth.
Much like the Flames, the Bruins are playing exhibition games in China, so my guess is that is the main reason why Fayne and Noebels received PTOs.
***
Of all the players above, I’d wager that Letestu is most capable of making a Lee Stempniak/P.A. Parenteau-type impact as a PTO who accomplishes something beyond the “replacement level.”
He doesn’t distinguish himself from the field as far as opportunities go, however, as it’s a packed field of forwards in Florida.
