A day after the Chicago Blackhawks made Brent Seabrooka $6.875 million healthy scratch, GM Stan Bowman made a move that reminded the hockey world that he’s still one of the NHL’s nimblest minds.
The fact that he made a promising move with the Arizona Coyotes after a Connor Murphy – Niklas Hjalmarsson trade that didn’t work out very well (for either side, really) only adds icing to the cake for Blackhawks fans.
Blackhawks receive:Anthony Duclair and Adam Clendening.
Coyotes get:Richard Panik and Laurent Dauphin.
The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reports that no salary was retained in the trade.
The biggest names here are Duclair and Panik. With LeBrun reporting that no salary was retained in the deal, it seems like it’s either a solid win or a significant win for the Blackhawks; that all depends upon how Duclair handles the change of scenery he requested.
Objectively, Duclair is younger (22) and cheaper than Panik (26). Panik’s cap hit is $2.8 million through 2018-19, while Duclair is a pending RFA with a $1.2M cap hit. The negative side is that Duclair could play exceptionally well and drive up his price, but the struggling Blackhawks would gladly deal with that “problem,” much like they were generally happy to deal with Artemi Panarin being so darn effective.
At the moment, Duclair’s production is more Panik-like than Panarin-like, mind you. There’s actually little separating Duclair’s numbers (15 points in 33 games) from those of Panik (16 points in 37 games).
Duclair’s potential, however, is what makes him very intriguing, especially for a Blackhawks team that’s found more than a few diamonds in the rough over the years.
If you’re a Blackhawks fan who’s already pleased with some elements of the deal, Sportsnet’s Jonathan Willis might make you downright giddy, as he pegged Duclair as the possible hidden gem of the trade market just yesterday:
Duclair looks pretty good at first blush. Last season, which was a mammoth disappointment, he still outperformed the team average. Over 172 games with one of the league’s worst teams, Duclair has actually been on the ice for more goals for than against, which is difficult to do. It’s a massive achievement: Arizona’s goal differential improves by almost a full goal for every hour Duclair plays versus every hour he doesn’t.
While his 2016-17 season was brutal at times, you don’t have to dig into fancy stats to find the only reasons to be excited. Duclair scored 20 goals in 2015-16, his first full season in the NHL, after being involved in the Keith Yandle Rangers trade. His 19-percent shooting percentage indicates there was some luck there, but he was very young, and still is at 22.
Now, the Blackhawks have some problems, and Duclair isn’t the defenseman they likely need the most. There’s also a chance that he’d provide the same production as Panik, as it’s worth doubling back that they’re near equals in at least the simplest stats right now.
Still, there’s an undeniable “nature versus nurture” element to this that could make it very exciting to see how a seemingly more skilled, inarguably younger player might do with more talented people around him. Not to mention a change of pace.
And, hey, at minimum he saves cash-strapped Chicago some money.
You might say Bowman’s back, although he’s been doing this for years.
Also:
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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.
PROJECTED LINES
Minnesota Wild
Forwards
Tyler Ennis – Eric Staal – Zach Parise
Jason Zucker – Mikko Koivu– Joel Eriksson Ek
Chris Stewart – Charlie Coyle – Mikael Granlund
Marcus Foligno – Matt Cullen – Daniel Winnik
Defense
Starting Goalie:Devan Dubnyk
NHL On NBCSN: Blackhawks, Wild meet in Wednesday Night Rivalry Central Division Clash
Chicago Blackhawks
Forwards
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Vinnie Hinostroza
Ryan Hartman – Nick Schmaltz – Patrick Kane
Patrick Sharp – David Kampf – Alex DeBrincat
Defense
Duncan Keith – Jordan Oesterle
Staring Goalie:Anton Forsberg
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.
Of all the things that were going right for the Tampa Bay Lightning to begin 2017-18, Tyler Johnson wasn’t exactly lighting the NHL on fire.
Through the first 25 games of the season, Johnson managed a mere four goals and seven assists for 11 points. That’s not disastrous, but it didn’t exactly inspire confidence in the seven-year, $35 million contract he recently signed.
Perhaps that deal will still come back to haunt the Lightning (maybe when it comes to giving Nikita Kucherov his future, well-deserved raise), but it turns out that Tuesday’s hat trick merely put an exclamation point on what might be a revitalizing season for Johnson.
It’s easy to lose track of such things when Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy are conquesting like Alexander the Great, yet it’s true. Johnson’s been electric in his own right.
In the past 17 games, Johnson’s generated 12 goals and 11 assists for a whopping 23 points.
He’s been hot lately, as that hat trick helped him put together five points in his last three games, but Johnson’s best stretch basically came down to, essentially, a month-long, 12-game point streak (eight goals, 10 assists).
With all of that in mind, Johnson’s lining up one of the best seasons of his career. He already has 34 points in 42 games this season, putting him close to matching his totals from two tough recent campaigns (45 points in 2016-17, 38 in 2015-16). In those cases, he was unable to hit 70 regular-season games played. His best work, far away, came in 2014-15, when he scored 72 points in 77 games and was sensational in the playoffs.
One big reason for the surge is that Johnson’s been playing with a guy he once had great success with (Ondrej Palat) and a rising star in Brayden Point. His most common linemate overall has been Alex Killorn (via Natural Stat Trick), but during the last 10 games, that trio’s been together even more often than Stamkos, Kucherov, and Vladislav Namestnikov (according to Left Wing Lock).
Johnson would probably say that what he’ll do in the playoffs is most important, and that’s been an area of strength even during seasons when he’s been banged up. Johnson has star-type postseason numbers so far in his career: 42 points in 47 playoff games.
Most of the headlines go to Stamkos, Kucherov, Hedman, and Vasilevskiy, and rightfully so. Those guys are putting the Lightning so far ahead of the pack that they need a special rear-view mirror (maybe borrowed from the Capitals?) to see their nearest competition for the Presidents’ Trophy.
Still, when the games matter, teams may somehow slow Kucherov-Stamkos, at least every now and then. The scary part is that Jon Cooper might have found another deadly option, and a familiar one, in Johnson.
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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.
The NHL revealed on Wednesday the full rosters for the 2018 NHL All-Star Game, which will take place Jan. 27-28 at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
It will be the second time the city has hosted the event and first time under the 3-on-3 tournament format. Last week, the league announced the four division captains who will represent the Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central and Pacific Divisions and be in charge of filling out the participants in the Skills Competition.
[Pass or Fail: 2018 NHL All-Star Game jerseys]
Here’s who will will be joining Steven Stamkos, Alex Ovechkin, P.K. Subban and Connor McDavid in sunny Tampa, Florida. Keep in mind that you can be sure there will be some injury replacements between now and All-Star Weekend.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
Head coach: Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning
F Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning (C)
F Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
F Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
F Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
F Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
D Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
D Mike Green, Detroit Red Wings
G Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
G Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
• You knew this team was going to be stacked with some host city boys, and four Lightning players plus the head coach will dominate the love of the Amalie Arena crowd. There’s also a 100 percent chance that Stamkos, Kucherov, Hedman and Vasilevskiy will start the first semifinal.
Potential injury replacements: Patrice Bergeron, Mark Stone, Morgan Rielly, Mikhail Sergachev, Charlie McAvoy, Frederik Andersen, Tuukka Rask
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
Head coach: Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals
F Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals (C)
F Taylor Hall, New Jersey Devils
F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Josh Bailey, New York Islanders
F John Tavares, New York Islanders
F Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
D Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
D Noah Hanifin, Carolina Hurricanes
D Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins
G Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
G Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
• So much for Crosby saying he’s not having an All-Star season. Should he end up going, it will be only the Penguins captain’s third appearance in the event. Good to see the Islanders finally having someone for Tavares to tag along with during All-Star Weekend.
Potential injury replacements: Anders Lee, Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier, Phil Kessel, John Carlson, Shayne Gostisbehere, Sergei Bobrovsky, Cory Schneider
CENTRAL DIVISION
Head coach: Peter Laviolette, Nashville Predators
F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
F Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets
F Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues
F Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild
F Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
D P.K. Subban, Nashville Predators (C)
D Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
D John Klingberg, Dallas Stars
G Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
• Great to see Schenn rep the Blues with the season he’s having. Also great to see Staal in an All-Star Game for the first time since 2011 when he captained Team Staal in Carolina.
Potential injury replacements: Vladimir Tarasenko, Jamie Benn, Patrik Laine, Ryan Suter, Roman Josi, Ben Bishop, Corey Crawford (if healthy by then)
PACIFC DIVISION
Head coach: Gerard Gallant, Vegas Golden Knights
F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (C)
F Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
F Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks
F James Neal, Vegas Golden Knights
F Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks
F Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
D Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
D Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes
G Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
G Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
• Really surprised by the two Vegas picks. Only Boeser has has many goals among Pacific Division players as William Karlsson (22). Then you have Jonathan Marchessault, who’s tied for fourth-best in the division with Boeser in points (40).
Potential injury replacements: Marchessault, Karlsson, Sean Monahan, Mark Giordano, Jake Muzzin, Mike Smith, John Gibson
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Sean Leahy is a writer forPro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line atphtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy
In theory, reviewing a play, goal, or other event in sports is a great idea; the whole point is to get things right and determine a true winner, right? As you’ve noticed from interminable waiting periods for marginal calls – in the NHL, but also in plenty of other sports, with the NFL providing some of the funniest optics over the years – it can be excruciating in practice.
It’s basically that old saying about good intentions, only with way more instant replays.
Fans and media aren’t the only ones annoyed by some of these ticky tacky reviews. In particular, offside goal reviews continue to annoy, and Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid vented last night about a would-be 2-2 goal that didn’t survive because Jujhar Khaira was “an arm hair” offside.
After acknowledging that the subject was a little more sensitive considering the Oilers’ 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators last night, McDavid said what many of us have been thinking.
“Ultimately I think they should just take the rule out,” McDavid said, as you can see in the video above this post’s headline.
McDavid adds that the marginal offside also didn’t have much of an effect on the would-be goal itself. TSN provided a helpful screengrab to show just how marginal the call was on Khaira:
Sportsnet also gave this moment something of a Zapruder film breakdown:
Now, it’s fair to note that it was still technically the right call, but such tiny differences betray the real aim of reviewing an offside or onside goal. (See: Matt Duchene‘s offside-by-a-mile goal from many moons ago.)
It starts to feel like the NFL’s crisis when it comes to what is or is not a reception, as officials might be making the right decisions, only fans shake their heads at the seemingly unnecessary complications.
Speaking of which, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun caught up with NHL exec Colin Campbell about the “skate in the air” element of these reviews (sub required). Campbell had already said that GMs couldn’t come to a consensus. In addressing the lack of consensus, Campbell makes a great point about the nature of sports fans: if a call seems unjust in a big moment, these small details suddenly become huge.
“I’ll try it again at the March meeting,” Campbell said to LeBrun over the phone Wednesday. “I think I’ll try to buy the managers over again as a group. People might say, ‘Who cares about one inch?’ A whole city would care in the playoffs about one inch if it was offside. That’s why we have the offside Coach’s Challenge …”
One point McDavid made in saying offside reviews should be eliminated is that fans want goals, and it does seem like the reviews are instead eliminating them.
According to TSN, there have been 33 offside challenges. In 13 instances, the original call was upheld. In 20 others, it was reversed to no goal.
The NHL is already discouraging offside review challenges, to some extent, by adding a two-minute delay of game minor for a failed challenge. While that can be a harsh punishment – the Predators would have seen their lead dissolve and would have needed to kill a penalty late in the third period – it’s not always often to deter Peter Laviolette and others from challenging what was a marginal call.
Pekka Rinne praised the assistant who recommended the challenge, saying he had a surgeon’s eyes.
Hey, it’s great to see attention to detail paying off, but it’s not as fun when all of this violates “the spirit of the rule.” Especially when that means halting the flow of play, wasting time, and losing goals.
Just as Connor McDavid, and probably plenty of other hockey players, media, and fans.
(Interestingly, Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli has been OK with the way the offside process has been going, but maybe that’s changed after this moment?)
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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.
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