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Examining the options for Kings, Kovalchuk

By Adam GretzNov 13, 2019, 4:22 PM EST
6 Comments

It seems that Ilya Kovalchuk‘s time with the Los Angeles Kings is going to be coming to an end one way or another in the not too distant future.

The team made him a healthy scratch on Tuesday night, and he will reportedly be out of the lineup for the foreseeable future as the team looks to get younger, shed salary, and finally begin turning the page over to a new chapter in a long overdue and much needed rebuild. The biggest question that remains with Kovalchuk is what, exactly, they are able to do with him.

Because of Kovalchuk’s contract the Kings options seem to be severely limited.

The key points regarding his contract…

  • He has one year remaining on it after this season at a salary cap hit of $6.25 million.
  • He is due a signing bonus in December worth $5.3 million, meaning any team that traded for him after that date would only be on the hook financially for a prorated salary of $700,000 for the rest of this season.
  • Because the contract is a 35-plus contract the Kings would still be on the hook for the entirety of his remaining salary cap hit if they were to buy him out or release him. And they would only be able to release him if Kovalchuk agrees to walk away from the remaining money he is owed, which seems unlikely.
  • His contract also contains a no-move clause and a modified no-trade clause, which could limit where he ends up in a trade.

Not an ideal situation to be in for the Kings.

The most logical option might be waiting until after his bonus is paid next month and digging back into the trade market when a team won’t have to commit as much financially. The issue, though, is still the fact that Kovalchuk is 36 years old, still has one year left after this one, and just hasn’t really been any kind of an impact player since returning to the NHL. He has scored at a 20-goal pace with the Kings, so there is still some offensive production there. Even with that he has clearly been a miserable fit in Los Angeles for where the team is and where it is looking to go in the future.

Are there any teams that would have an interest in taking that on? Look at it this way, if the Edmonton Oilers can move Milan Lucic‘s contract, there is absolutely a chance for the Kings to move this one.

Let’s speculate a bit on some potential landing spots.

New York Islanders. Before you completely dismiss this and yell about how he would never fit within their system or be good enough defensively to play for Barry Trotz, stop and think for a minute about who their general manager is. Lou Lamoriello is the one that went all-in on signing him to that original massive contract years ago with the New Jersey Devils, while there were also rumblings the team was interested in signing him when he returned to the league last summer. For as good as the Islanders have been they could still use another goal-scorer, there is history between the player and GM, and they have the salary cap space to take on that cap hit. It could be an interesting lottery ticket for a team that is still probably a piece or two away from really being able to make some serious noise in the playoffs. There are worse potential landing spots.

Columbus Blue Jackets. Another team with salary cap space that is in desperate need of offense. Even after their offseason  free agency exodus and slow start through the first month, the Blue Jackets do not seem ready to throw in the towel on this season. The problem: their offense has been completely non-existent to this point. Their goals per game average is the second lowest in the league, ahead of only the Detroit Red Wings.

San Jose Sharks. The salary cap would make it complicated so there would have to probably be some maneuvering done to make it work, but the Sharks are already trying to win with a bunch of superstars from 2008 so why not add one more to the mix?

St. Louis Blues. Not sure how they would make this work with the salary cap, especially next season, so it is probably a really long shot in the dark, but with Vladimir Tarasenko sidelined for the next five months they could really use another goal-scorer.

Carolina Hurricanes. Now here is an intriguing option. If the Kings are going to trade Kovalchuk one of the options might include them throwing in a valuable asset (draft pick, prospect, young player) as a sweetener to convince another team to take such an ugly contract. Do you know what team has had a lot of success in making those kind of moves over the years? These folks. It’s how they ended up with Teuvo Teravainen, as well as an additional 2020 first-round pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs for absorbing Patrick Marleau‘s contract. Would it really be a shock if they picked up the phone, gave the Kings a call, and said, “hey, we hear you have a contract you don’t want. Let’s talk about that…” This is right in their wheelhouse.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

 

The Buzzer: Bruins blow big lead; Troubling Crosby report

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By James O'BrienNov 13, 2019, 2:50 AM EST
4 Comments

Uh oh

The Athletic’s Rob Rossi reports (sub required) that Sidney Crosby is considering undergoing surgery for a sports hernia, among other treatment options.

Rossi reports that Crosby recently aggravated the injury, but it was something that had been bothering throughout 2019-20. The Pittsburgh Penguins’ host of injuries explained why Crosby didn’t undergo a procedure sooner.

If Crosby undergoes such a surgery, Rossi explains that the typical recovery window is four-to-six weeks, although Crosby’s been told it may only sideline him for a month. There are other possibilities to try to avoid surgery, as Rossi outlines, although delaying the inevitable could lead to aggravating the issue again.

Personally, I’d bite the bullet and have Crosby go under the knife now, rather than risking losing him during an even more important time of the year. We’ll see how it goes, whether Crosby opts for surgery or tries alternate options. It doesn’t seem like the rosiest update overall, though.

Three Stars

1. Andrew Werner, Colorado Avalanche

This post goes into greater detail, but in short, Werner made his NHL debut after Pavel Francouz was injured seconds into Tuesday’s game against the Jets. Not only did the 22-year-old Werner win for Colorado, he also stopped all 40 of Winnipeg’s shots on goal.

Technically, Werner won’t get a shutout, as Francouz started the contest and played for about one minute. It was a functional shutout in every other way, though — Werner even stopped all eight of Patrik Laine‘s shots on goal — so he nabs the top star of Tuesday.

2. Nathan MacKinnon, also of the Colorado Avalanche

… Unless you think his teammate is more deserving.

With Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog still on the shelf, MacKinnon showed that he can still generate high-level offense, as he factored into all four Avalanche goals (2G, 2A).

It’s been a little all-or-nothing for MacKinnon lately. Along with Tuesday’s four points, he also generated a four-point game (1G, 3A) on Nov. 7. Yet, in three of his five most recent games, MacKinnon was held pointless. Eight points in five games still rocks, mind you, but maybe that feast-or-famine pattern shows where MacKinnon might miss his partners in crime.

Either way, it’s been a superstar-status-affirming start to 2019-20, as MacKinnon has 11 goals and 26 points in 18 games.

3. Keith Yandle, Florida Panthers

The Panthers missed out on a Mike Hoffman power-play opportunity when the lights went out temporarily in Boston, and to make matters worse, were behind 4-0 during the third period. Instead of folding, Florida scored four goals during that third period, then beat the Bruins 5-4 via a shootout.

Yandle played a big role in that rally (1G, 2A). The high-scoring defenseman collected primary assists on two Panthers goals, and also scored the goal that sent the game to overtime.

There were other players who generated three points on Tuesday, including Yandle’s teammate, Jonathan Huberdeau. The importance of Yandle’s goal, or primary nature of Yandle’s assists, made his night stand out, though. (Huberdeau’s assists were secondary, and Tanner Pearson‘s goal was an empty-netter, as two examples. Oh, and Huberdeau is now tied for first in Panthers history with 249 assists, alongside Stephen Weiss.)

Highlight of the Night

Brendan Lemieux‘s tremendous pass + Kaapo Kakko‘s great move to finish things off for a goal already received plenty of attention, but sorry, it’s the clip of the night.

Factoids

  • Tuesday marked just the third time in Bruins history where an opponent tied the game after Boston carried a four-goal lead into the third period, via Mike Biergard of the NHL. The Bruins lost 7-6 in OT to the Maple Leafs in 1989, and won 5-4 against the Kings in 1981.
  • From the Panthers’ perspective:

  • Erik Karlsson was another player who authored a three-point game, generating three assists as San Jose beat Edmonton. That’s his 37th three-point game, the most of any defenseman since Karlsson entered the league in 2019-20, via NHL PR.
  • One more from NHL PR: Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar joins Larry Murphy (Kings, 1980-81) as the only two rookie defensemen to generate at least one point in 14 of their first 18 regular season games.

Scores

FLA 5 – BOS 4 (SO)
MTL 3 – CBJ 2 (SO)
NYR 3 – PIT 2 (OT)
ARI 3 – STL 2 (SO)
COL 4 – WPG 0
VAN 5 – NSH 3
DET 4 – ANA 3 (OT)
LAK 3 – MIN 1
SJS 6 – EDM 3

MORE:
• Pro Hockey Talk’s Stanley Cup picks.
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

PHT Morning Skate: Stars to retire Zubov’s number; NHL hydration techniques

By Sean LeahyNov 12, 2019, 9:10 AM EST
2 Comments

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.

• No Dallas Star will ever wear No. 56 again as the team announced they will retire Sergei Zubov’s number sometime next season. [Stars]

• The Blues have signed Jamie McGinn and Troy Brouwer to tryout contracts to see if they can wait on calling up prospects. [Post-Dispatch]

• Connor Hellebuyck is carrying a large load for the Jets this season. [TSN]

• Patrick Kane is scoring and that’s a much-needed boost for the Blackhawks. [NBC Sports Chicago]

• Looking for reasons why the Lightning offense is off to a slow start? Start with their stars. [Raw Charge]

• How Sidney Crosby reshaped the NHL in his image. [Sportsnet]

• If the Sabres are looking to add a forward, they should start with Tyler Toffoli of the Kings. [Die by the Blade]

• Interesting look at the various hydration techniques of NHL players. [Boston Herald]

• It doesn’t look promising for the Blue Jackets’ chances of turning around their slow start. [Yahoo]

• What Zdeno Chara, Jay Bouwmeester and 1,500 games tells us about longevity and the Hockey Hall of Fame. [The Hockey News]

• Rico Phillips’ life has changed since he was named winner of the 2019 Willie O’Ree Award. [NHL.com]

• Barry Trotz is ready to see what’s next with Oliver Wahlstrom. [Islanders Insight]

• Finally, there were a trio of beautiful goals over the last few days outside of the NHL. First up, Jayden Davis of the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins with some magic:

Next, Adrian College’s Dean Balsamo spins and spins and scores:

Finally, Mike Sgarbossa of the Hershey Bears gets elected as Mayor of Dangle City:

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.

Blue Jackets’ Foligno suspended 3 games for elbowing Bellemare

By Adam GretzNov 11, 2019, 4:03 PM EST
6 Comments

Columbus Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno was ejected from Saturday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche for a nasty elbow to the head of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

That play will result in him missing a few more games.

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced on Monday afternoon that Foligno has been suspended three games for elbowing.

Bellemare was diagnosed with a concussion is going to remain out of the Avalanche for the time being.

Here is a look at the play, as well as the NHL’s explanation for the suspension.

The league notes that this hit can not be classified as excusable or accidental contact where Foligno raises his arm as a reflex to brace for sudden contact or to attempt to avoid a collision. Instead, it is Foligno that is in control of the play and initiates the contact, meaning the onus is on him to deliver a clean body check. He obviously did not do that and instead extended his elbow forcefully into Bellemare’s jaw.

Foligno said after the game he did not know he hit Bellemare in the head and was sick to his stomach when he realized he did.

Prior to this suspension Foligno had only been fined one time in his NHL career and never suspended, but the fact that Bellemare was injured on the play almost certainly added some games to Foligno’s punishment.

In 17 games this season he has one goal and six assists for the Blue Jackets.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

 

NHL Power Rankings: The quiet dominance of the Capitals

By Adam GretzNov 11, 2019, 2:43 PM EST
1 Comment

Maybe it is because we are so used to seeing them at the top of the NHL standings.

Maybe it is because they already won their Stanley Cup and there is no longer any pressure on them to shake their postseason disappointment label.

Or maybe it is because there are so many other intriguing stories around the NHL that are dominating headlines (Edmonton and Vancouver off to surprising starts, the Islanders winning 10 in a row, Boston and St. Louis looking like they can get back to the Stanley Cup Final).

Whatever the reason, it seems like the Washington Capitals are getting a little overlooked this season and it is kind of amazing given just how dominant they have been. Entering the week they are 13-2-3 for the season, are one of the highest scoring teams in the league, have the best points percentage in the league, and have recorded at least a point in 11 consecutive games (10-0-1). What stands out the most about this start is they are doing it while getting mostly sub-par goaltending from Braden Holtby. If he gets back on track there is the potential for another championship parade in Washington D.C..

Because of all of that the Capitals climb to the top spot in this week’s PHT Power Rankings.

Where does every other team sit this season?

To the rankings!

1. Washington Capitals. Alex Ovechkin at 34 years of age is off to the second best goal scoring start of his career. He just keeps going and completely disregarding the normal aging curve of players.

2. St. Louis Blues. The defending champs were 3-2-3 after eight games and lost their best player for what will probably most — if not all — of the regular season. All they have done is go 9-1-0 in their past 10 games. Lot of overtime luck in there, but they are building themselves a nice cushion.

3. New York Islanders. After starting the year 1-3-0 they are entering the week on an 11-0-1 run, with the only loss coming in overtime after surrendering a three-goal third period lead.

4. Boston Bruins. Eventually somebody other than David Pastrnak or Brad Marchand will have to start scoring some goals. They have time to figure it out.

5. Philadelphia Flyers. Very quietly the Flyers have one of the top points percentages in the NHL (sixth best) and have won five out of their past six. Five of those six games have gone to overtime or a shootout so they are not really decisive wins, but their underlying and possession numbers paint the picture of a team that might have the right process.

6. Edmonton Oilers. Connor McDavid and Leon Drasaitl are doing exactly what is expected and exactly what they always do. The big difference-makers this season, though, are Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen playing great in net. Those two are the players that will determine what this team is able to do.

7. Colorado Avalanche. They slumped recently but am going to give them the benefit of the doubt due to the injury situation. When healthy they showed they can dominate, and they showed against Nashville and Columbus they can still score goals even without Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins. Just when it looked like they were starting to get fully healthy Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Patric Hornqvist all exited the lineup with injuries. They are still playing extremely well despite all of the players they have been missing but the absence of Crosby will be a huge test.

9. Montreal Canadiens. Shea Weber can still be a great player and change a game when he is healthy.

10. Florida Panthers. If Sergei Bobrovsky would start playing like the goalie they paid him to be they would really be on to something this year. There is still plenty of time for him to turn it around and if/when he does this could be a sneaky dangerous team.

11. Nashville Predators. Filip Forsberg has five points in five games since returning to the lineup. The offense has been great, but they need more from the goalies, specifically Jusse Saros.

12. Dallas Stars. Ben Bishop got back on track and so did the Stars. They still need to do something to find some more offense because no goalie is great enough to allow one goal every game.

13. Winnipeg Jets. Paul Maurice deserves a lot of credit for keeping this team competitive given the state of the defense. But do you know who deserves more credit? Goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

14. Tampa Bay Lightning. They are starting to show some signs of getting back on track, but something still seems a little off here.

15. Toronto Maple Leafs. Everybody wants the Maple Leafs to change the way the play, but what if the change they need to make is to become more aggressive offensively, and not less?

16. Calgary Flames. They are starting to get back on track after a slow start. Matthew Tkachuk is the engine driving this machine right now.

17. Arizona Coyotes. They are definitely on the right track but still need to learn how to finish games.

18. Vancouver Canucks. The offense has gone cold during their four-game losing streak, but there are still a lot of encouraging signs here with this team.

19. Vegas Golden Knights. They have lost five out of six and still have not found a competent backup goalie to give Marc-Andre Fleury some rest. That is an under the radar problem that is going to need to be addressed.

20. Carolina Hurricanes. I still believe when all is said and done this season they will be a contender in the Eastern Conference, but they look out of sorts right now across the board.

21. Buffalo Sabres. The competition has started to get tougher and the losses have become more frequent. Not a good sign. After starting the year 8-1-0 the Sabres are 1-5-1 since with the only win coming against a lousy Detroit Red Wings team.

22. New York Rangers. Adam Fox has been the most impressive rookie on this team. That is not a knock on No. 2 overall pick Kaapo Kakko, just a statement on how good Fox has been.

23. San Jose Sharks. Starting to show some signs of life, but how far are they really going to go with that goaltending?

24. Chicago Blackhawks. They are finding ways to collect points every other game, but there is not really anything impressive about their play.

25. Ottawa Senators. They may not have a ton of talent but they play hard and are not throwing in the towel on this season.

26. Anaheim Ducks. If John Gibson and Ryan Miller are not flawless this team has no chance. Both goalies are having outstanding years and the team is still trending toward the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

27. New Jersey Devils. Jack Hughes, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, is starting to look more comfortable.

28. Minnesota Wild. Their big rally against Arizona was a nice break from the overall disappointment that has been the 2019-20 season.

29. Columbus Blue Jackets. My sleeper team for the season is turning out to be exactly what everyone thought it would be.

30. Detroit Red Wings. After losing 12 out of 13 they managed to beat Boston and Vegas in back-to-back games. Even with those two wins they are still just 3-11-1 in their past 15 games. That is bad. What is not bad? Robby Fabbri scoring two goals in his first game with the team.

31. Los Angeles Kings. Time to start selling off whatever they can.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.